The SEED of Tomorrow
by Lord Raa
Summary: Coordinators, for all their genetic superiority, have one flaw. Someone has taken steps to correct this flaw. AU with a focus on another character.
1. Chapter 1

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Funk knows no boundaries.

* * *

Year 71 of the Cosmic Era

* * *

The pilots selected for the smash and grab raid on Heliopolis were all fine young men that Athrun Zala trusted with his life. There wasn't one of them he hadn't personally flown at least three missions on without any of them suffering so much as a scratch.

As far as Athrun was concerned, they were all prime examples of the excellence that came from the military academy, though they weren't the ones he would have chosen if he'd been in charge of the roster.

At least, the ones who were going in on foot were. The support section of this mission were all older, saltier pilots who looked down upon Athrun and his peers. All members of the ZAFT armed forces were Coordinators, it was just that Athrun and his team were just kids in their eyes. The fact that they were so young and being used in a combat mission just highlighted how fleeting life was for a soldier in this war may have contributed to that attitude.

But still, their mission commander, Rau Le Creuset, had laid out a specific plan of action for this operation and Athrun was determined to see it carried out to the best of his abilities. The only thing that would have made things better would be the inclusion of his preferred teammates, Yzak Joule, Dearka Elsman and Nichol Amarfi.

Members of the infiltration team planted their time bombs as they moved through the colony structure. Rusty Mackenzie scanned the area for Earth Alliance ground troops.

"Athrun, there's some soldiers over there," he said pointing to the docks.

"I see them. Looks like they're lightly armed. Are all the bombs in place?"

"They are. Timed to go off in 8 minutes."

"We'll fan out as we move in, keeping ourselves low to the ground. Once the bombs go off, the GINNs are to flank the docks as part of the distraction. Everyone clear?"

"Yes," came the replies from the whole team.

"Then we move on three. One. Two. Three."

* * *

Kira Yamato was with his friends as they approached the Morgenroete facility. They'd been delayed thanks to a technical malfunction on their automated taxi.

Kira had told his friends, Miriallia Haw and Tolle Koenig, that he could fix it in no time at all, but Tolle had insisted that they leave it for the operating service to deal with and they should get a replacement.

Outnumbered, he agreed and now they were running about ten minutes late.

Feeling something strange, he looked over his shoulder and saw something glinting in the distance.

"Come on, Kira!" Miriallia chided. "We're late enough as it is."

"Sorry, I just-"

A series of explosions cut the young Coordinator off.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was an explosion!" Tolle shouted. He whirled around to check his friends were OK when a mobile suit emerged from a service hatch and started laying down some suppressive fire.

"Run!" Kira bellowed, gesturing to a nearby shelter. "Just run!"

Tolle and Miriallia ran as fast as their legs would carry them.

Kira followed, but found himself trying to avoid a spent shell casing from the GINN and thus was delayed.

Beside him a figure in a space suit landed.

"Who are you?" Kira asked.

The figured turned slowly, preparing its projectile weapon.

"Kira?"

"Athrun? What are you doing here?"

"ZAFT business," the soldier replied, lowering the weapon slightly. "I'm trying to end the war."

"Heliopolis is a neutral colony! Attacking it will prolong the war!"

"I'm not here to assault Heliopolis, Kira, I'm here to-"

The right foot of the GINN descended on Kira Yamato, turning him into a red paste.

Athrun looked up to see that the mobile suit was pointing a weapon at him. Realising that something had gone very wrong, he did his best to evade the war machine as it unleashed a barrage of fire at him.

'What's happening?' he wondered when he'd managed to find some cover. He looked over and saw that Rusty had been pinned down by Earth Alliance soldiers.

Raising his weapon, he aimed carefully and fired off a few short, controlled bursts. It was textbook, his gunnery instructor at the academy would have been proud. Two rounds even hit their target, though it was impossible to tell if they'd been lethal or just temporarily incapacitated it.

Regardless, it was enough for Rusty to move out of cover and towards the mobile suit. Athrun followed, only to see the rogue GINN vaporise his friend in a rocket attack.

It made no sense how or why this was happening. Friendly fire was one thing, but this had been an aimed shot, as had the attack on himself. There were no reasons for a ZAFT pilot to act like this. Activating his radio, Athrun tried to contact Rau Le Creuset.

"Come in Vesalius, this is Athrun Zala, do you read me?"

"¬This is Vesalius, what's the situation?¬"

"One of the GINNs is trying to kill us! They've already killed Rusty!"

"¬What? Say again?¬"

Athrun was about to repeat when the rogue GINN approached him and fired again.

* * *

Aboard the Vesalius, Fredrik Ades looked at the comms officer. "Can you get Athrun back? Or at least replay that message?"

"Replaying now, sir," the officer replied.

"¬..ome... in Ves...s, this is Athr... Zala, do you read?¬"

"¬One ... the GINNs is … to … us! They've al...y ..ed Rusty!¬"

Ades frowned. The pilots of the GINNs were skilled veterans, their loyalty was without question. Yet Athrun Zala seemed to be saying that they were betraying them. It made no sense.

"Raise the GINNs, I need to know what's going on now!"

"Trying to raise them now, sir."

* * *

Murrue Ramius was cursing the ZAFT soldiers attacking Heliopolis. It had soon been made clear that they were attempting to steal the Gundam prototypes, but something seemed wrong.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something wrong with the operation. She'd seen one of the pilots be shot down by the supporting mobile suits. She wasn't complaining that the ZAFT forces were attacking each other, but this random, chaotic element was incredibly dangerous.

Her only chance was to get into the Strike Gundam and fight her way out of this situation. Even then, it would be an uphill struggle given the mobile suit's current status.

She saw an approaching figure and realised that it was dressed in the same way as the other ZAFT soldiers. Gritting her teeth, she aimed her weapon and pulled the trigger.

It was empty.

She cursed under her breath and reached for another magazine, only to find she was out of ammo. Murrue's hand fell to her waist to retrieve her sidearm. Chambering the first round, she clicked the safety off and aimed for the incoming soldier.

Just as she was about to fire, the GINN fired at the support vehicles for the G-weapons, destroying them all. The explosion made her duck behind her cover for a few seconds.

This allowed Athrun Zala to approach the cockpit of the Strike Gundam. As he waited for what felt like an hour for the hatch to open, Murrue had recovered enough to sneak up on him and pressed her pistol at an unarmoured part of his back.

"Stand down or you're dead."

Athrun dropped the gun he was holding. It would buy him time to find a way out of this situation. Slowly he turned around to see who it was that held his life in their hands. He wasn't surprised that it was a woman in overalls, but rather that she was quite striking.

"I did-" she started to chide him when he saw the rogue GINN was preparing to kill them both.

It was only his reflexes that saved them from a premature death. The Coordinator leapt forward and tackled her to the ground, his actions having the added benefit of disarming the woman.

"Sorry," Athrun said, his face buried in Murrue's cleavage. "But I didn't have time to warn you."

"Just get off me!" she growled. She noticed she was no longer holding onto the pistol. Her eyes darted around to find the weapon and she lunged for it, only to fall short because of the young man on top of her.

Murrue kicked at the ZAFT soldier to get him off her as she reached out for the pistol.

Athrun finally rolled off her, slightly disorientated from the explosion and close encounter with a pair of breasts. He might have had a fiancée, but being that close to any female was still something he wasn't used to.

Besides, Lacus Clyne was too pure for anything like that.

The sound of the pistol being cocked brought him back to reality.

"Crap..."

Murrue was about to warn this young man that he was now a prisoner of the Earth Alliance, when the other Gundam mobile suits started to activate.

"Crap..."

Athrun realised that this was likely his only chance to overpower the woman and complete his mission when the recently activated mobile suits turned their weapons towards the Strike Gundam.

"Not you as well..." he said, his heart sinking. Out of reflex, he grabbed the woman around the waist and dragged her into the cockpit.

It wasn't exactly gentle, but it was the quickest way to get his plan into motion.

"I need you to start this thing up or we're dead," he said to Murrue.

She frowned, but knew that he was right.

A few keystrokes later and the Strike Gundam was booting up.

"Keep behind the chair," Murrue instructed. "It's the only way we're getting out of here alive!"

The Lieutenant started to activate more advanced systems, including the Phase Shift armour. The slow response times making it a struggle to get the mobile suit to react like anything other like a partially sedated elephant.

Athrun glanced at a monitor and realise that they were close to some civilians. A second glance suggested they were the same age as he and Kira.

"Kira..." he whispered.

When the mobile suit stumbled forward, the Coordinator was shaken out of this reverie about his old friend and now he felt the need for revenge burn in his heart.

"We're never going to be able beat the GINN like this. Get out the way and I'll pilot it."

Murrue reluctantly did as asked, climbing out of the seat and resting behind the chair. "What are you going to do?"

"Reprogramme this thing," Athrun said as his fingers darted across the keyboard, rewriting the OS on the fly. After fifteen seconds, the system started a reboot.

"Cutting it fine..." Murrue said as the monitor that showed the approaching GINN fade out and flicker back into life.

A quick glance at the weapons had Athrun shaking his head. But rather than complain, the Coordinator activated the Armour Schneider compartments and pulled out the two short blades.

A moment later, one was thrust into the neck of the GINN, the other into its battery compartment.

"Look out!" Murrue said as the GINN exploded, knocking the Gundam to its knees.

* * *

In his mobile armour, Rau Le Creuset was being updated by both the Vesalius and his infiltration team. Unfortunately, one of his soldiers hadn't managed to eliminate Athrun Zala during the operation before he'd contacted the Vesalius, but that wrinkle aside, the theft of three state of the art mobile suits would more than make up for having to answer a few questions back at the ship.

It was looking like he'd have to remove Ades from the picture before he became a thorn in his side. It was always unfortunate when you had to remove a skilled and trusted subordinate, but better to do that now rather than after he makes a fuss about things and jeopardise the plan.

Athrun Zala was just meant to be an unfortunate casualty in this operation. Le Creuset had no problem with Chairman Zala's son, he was an excellent pilot and followed orders. Not to mention that it was suboptimal to reduce the numbers of the Coordinators, especially given that the third generation were having some fertility problems. It was just that for Rectification to happen, he needed to be killed in an operation against the Naturals.

Breaking off his dogfight with the veteran pilot, Mu La Flaga, the masked man headed back to the Vesalius to debrief the returning pilots and inspect the stolen mobile suits.

If Athrun Zala had managed to survive this first stage of the mission, he'd either be captured by the Earth Alliance or killed during one of the upcoming phases of the operation. Heliopolis and its remaining inhabitants would not live to tell any tales about what happened here.

* * *

Murrue Ramius opened the hatch to the Gundam and ordered the ZAFT soldier out at gunpoint.

"Fine, fine," the Coordinator sighed as he descended to the ground. When he was on solid ground, he removed his helmet. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked around and considered his options.

It was only one woman with a sidearm keeping him there, so the odds of him being able to escape were good. But escape to where?

The rest of the team had fled to the rendezvous point or been killed during the operation. He wasn't even sure if the Vesalius was still in orbit, never mind having the means to reach it.

Athrun's quick mind went over that last thought. Had he been betrayed by the infiltration team? Rau Le Creuset had always instilled a fierce loyalty in all of his subordinates, from the lowest rating fresh from boot camp to lifers in the ZAFT military.

The only ones who weren't loyal seemed to be the higher ups in the chain of command. They seemed to view him with suspicion, but the more Athrun thought about it, the more he realised that it was with good reason. After all, the rank and file soldiers would be more likely to follow someone who'd led them into combat more than some politician.

Perhaps that was why Le Creuset had only been allocated minimal assets for this mission?

Then again, from what he knew of Le Creuset, he would have treated such things as a challenge and would complete the mission in spite of the limitation imposed upon him.

It was part of what helped instil the loyalty of the troops. So it brought the infiltration of his team by traitors into question.

Athrun shook his head, his thoughts were drifting. He needed to focus on what to do to stay alive and get back ZAFT territory.

"So then, what's your name, Soldier?" the woman in overalls asked, after connecting the Gundam to the mobile recharging station.

"Athrun Zala, rank: Red Uniform, serial number: 15874-634-S2," the Coordinator said, turning around slowly.

"Zala?"

"Zala," Athrun confirmed. He would say no more about his family history, out of fear that he was about to become a bargaining chip to ensure the safe passage of the remaining Earth Alliance troops.

It was embarrassing enough to be captured, he didn't need the dishonour of being the precise reason why the final experimental mobile suit escaped.

The woman looked at him curiously, as if she was about to ask follow up questions. For better or worse, the civilians Athrun had spotted earlier emerged from cover.

"What's going on?"

"You kids, get away from the mobile suit!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Murrue Ramius and I'm armed. If you do what I say, you'll get out of here alive," the curvy woman said.

"And if we don't?" one of the teenagers, a young man asked defiantly.

"Don't test me, boy," Ramius warned, aiming her weapon at him.

"S-sorry, ma'am," Tolle backed down instantly.

"S-so now what?" Miriallia asked.

"Give me a moment!" the increasingly annoyed lieutenant growled. "I've lost my team, been attacked by ZAFT mobile suits and now I have a prisoner to deal with."

The teenagers backed up a step.

Athrun looked at the junior officer and saw she was well out of her depth with this situation. It did give him hope that he might be able to escape, but before he could formulate his plan, two ZAFT mobile suits started to speed towards them.

"Crap..."

Ramius looked at her options. She couldn't let the Strike Gundam call into enemy hands, but she couldn't pilot it and keep the civilians safe. The prisoner would be able to use this chance to escape. It wasn't what she wanted, but there was little chance for her keep him for questioning and fight off the two GINNs that were rapidly approaching.

"Your lucky day, Athrun Zala," Murrue sighed as she lowered her sidearm. "You get to go free."

It was then that the lead GINN opened fire and killed the three civilians.

Athrun blinked. He couldn't believe it, they weren't combatants, they weren't even close to looking like soldiers. They were civilians.

Not only that, but the Coordinator knew that the targeting systems on the GINN were good enough to be able to determine that they weren't a threat or even soldiers.

Something was very wrong with the mobile suit pilots.

Never before had ZAFT troops used force against civilians like this, and certainly never in a neutral colony. Rau Le Creuset would never have allowed those under him to commit war crimes.

He had to stop them before they destroyed the colony and the reputation of Rau Le Creuset.

Turning to the slightly shaken Murrue Ramius, he asked if she could pilot the mobile suit or wanted him to get them away.

"What?"

"Look, something's wrong: they could tell those kids weren't soldiers and they're ignoring my attempts to contact them. Get in the cockpit and I'll keep us safe."

"... Fine," the Lieutenant said reluctantly.

* * *

It hadn't taken Athrun long to dispatch the ZAFT mobile suits in the Strike Gundam. Once he'd gotten used to it, something that hadn't taken much time at all, it became clear just how much more powerful this Gundam system was compared to previous mobile suits.

He marvelled at the speed of the controls and power of the Phase Shift armour.

Murrue had also been taken aback by the efficiency of the Strike Gundam at the hands of the young Coordinator. None of the test pilots had shown anything close to the aptitude of Athrun Zala had displayed so casually.

'I guess that's academy training for the genetically enhanced,' she mused.

Just as Athrun was about to power down the Gundam, the Archangel appeared, emerging through the heavily damaged docks.

"Wait, Athrun," Murrue said, stopping the pilot from opening fire.

"What?"

"That's my ship, it's how we're getting out of here." The Lieutenant fumbled for the radio and hailed the ship.

"¬This is the Archangel, identify yourselves.¬"

"This is Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, I'm current in the Strike Gundam and I've got a prisoner."

"¬Lieutenant Ramius, this is Ensign Natarle Badgiruel. Make your way to the main dock and we'll discuss the situation once the prisoner and Strike Gundam are secured.¬"

"I thought you said I could go..." Athrun complained.

"If you'd gone when I said, you'd be free."

"We'd both be dead and you know it," the Coordinator shot back. He let out a sigh. He could overpower his captor and attempt to flee in the Gundam, but a quick check of the remaining power told him he'd be a sitting duck in a few minutes.

Not only that, but it would involve hitting a woman. Sure, she was a soldier, but ZAFT forces had acted ungallantly enough for one day.

The pilot's thoughts drifted back to the first GINN incident and he slumped into the chair. "Kira..."

"Are you alright?"

"I... I am your prisoner, Lieutenant Ramius. My life is in your hands."

* * *

To be continued… ?

Yeah, I've changed a few things in this terrible, terrible story. I'm sure that you'll all get over this once you realise what these changes are.

Yes, the title is something of a pun, but it's also hinting at what I have planned for this nonsense.

Feel free to comment, as I'd like to know if this one is worth continuing with.


	2. Chapter 2

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Come and touch. Don't be scared…

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Ensign Badgiruel glared at the restrained Athrun Zala before turning her attention back to the two senior officers.

"Unfortunately, all the senior officers have been killed during the attack. This means that it's your ship, Lieutenant."

"My ship?"

"I may have seniority, but I don't know anything about the Archangel or its systems. Sorry, Lieutenant, but you're the best person for the job," Mu La Flaga insisted.

"Right… OK…" Murrue sighed. "I am taking command of the Archangel. So, let's get him in the brig before we discuss things."

"Who is he?" the Ensign asked.

"He said his name is Athrun Zala."

"Athrun Zala?" Mu repeated. He looked over the Coordinator. "As in…"

The change in posture told the mobile armour pilot all he needed to know. "I'll take him to the brig. We'll meet up in the ready room in thirty minutes, give you a chance to freshen up."

"Agreed," Murrue and Natarle said before they left for their quarters.

Mu gestured for Athrun to follow him. They walked to the brig under a heavy silence. It was clear that the truth about the Coordinator's heritage was about to be revealed and when it was, things would get a lot more complicated for everyone on the Archangel.

Upon opening the door, Mu sighed. "You know I have to tell them, right?"

"…"

"I'd rather you were just a regular pilot, too. It'd make things easier for us. But you're not a regular pilot."

"Are you going to interrogate me?"

"We'll have a few questions for you once we've brought the Captain up to speed."

"What would you do in my position?" Athrun asked. He looked drained.

"From one pilot to another? Tell them my name, rank and serial number," Mu smiled humourlessly.

* * *

In the ready room, Lieutenant Ramius wrapped her fingers around the cup of hot coffee she'd been handed by Ensign Badgiruel.

Mu La Flaga sipped at a tumbler of water. "So, who wants to go first?"

"I will," Natarle said. "We've lost the command staff and most of the senior crew. We've got some non commissioned officers and enlisted to help with the maintaining of the ship, but we could do with a full service and re-crew. On the plus side, we're space-worthy and have a full compliment of weapons."

"What about the Captain and the pilots for the Gundam?" Murrue asked.

"They didn't make it," Mu replied. "They were hit during the assault. We have my Moebius Zero, but it's being repaired and refitted. It's going to take at least another 16 hours before it's combat ready."

"That leaves us with the Strike Gundam..." the Lieutenant sighed. "It's the only one we managed to recover, but we don't have a proper pilot. Lieutenant, could you…"

"I haven't got a hope in Hell of piloting that thing," the pilot said sadly. "I looked at what the footage of pilot candidates and it was a miracle they could get them do anything. If I had a few weeks to train on it, maybe I could do something."

A silence fell upon the room.

"How did you pilot it?"

"I… I didn't. Athrun did. He needed to change the OS, but he was able to do it on the fly. He saved me," Murrue answered.

Natarle frowned, but knew that she couldn't complain. If Athrun hadn't done that, there was a good chance they'd all be dead.

"About Athrun," Mu said. He took a sip of water. "There's something I have to tell you about him. He's not just any ZAFT pilot, he's Chairman Zala's son."

"WHAT?" Natarle demanded.

"He's Chairman Patrick Zala's son. Which complicates things. Once the Brass finds out we've got him, our orders will basically be bring him to HQ ASAP."

"You really think they'll want to use him as leverage?" Murrue asked, aghast at the thought of a human life being treated as a bargaining chip.

"Oh, yes," Mu nodded. "It's the perfect ace to keep up your sleeve in a peace negotiation. 'Are we being too harsh? Maybe we should throw in your son's head?'"

"They would never say that!"

"Maybe not, but I can see there being calls for retaliation after an attack on neutral colony. Anger clouds the judgement of good people and if someone thinks it'll even the score, I can assure that same someone is thinking about killing young Athrun Zala."

"That'll just make things worse though," Natarle opined. "With nothing to lose, Chairman Zala might decide that treaties don't matter. Who knows what weapons he'll unleash!"

"He can't use nuclear weapons with the N-Jammers they scattered across the planet," Murrue said. "What else could he use?"

Mu's face turned ashen as he realised the one thing the Archangel would be unable to stop. "The colonies themselves. Think about it. How much does the average colony weigh? Millions of tonnes, right? Imaging that smashing into the Earth's surface."

"Fuck…" the Ensign cursed.

"Yeah, even if it doesn't kill everyone on Earth in the initial impact, the amount material thrown up into the atmosphere would cause a nuclear winter. Any survivors are going to suffer food shortages."

A sombre air filled the room. Athrun Zala's presence on the Archangel complicated matters beyond everyone's initial estimates.

"We have to tell HQ," Murrue said. It felt like it was passing the buck, but the truth was that this situation was far above their pay grade. "Let them decide what to do. In the mean time, we'll prepare to leave and head back to Earth."

* * *

Rau Le Creuset was reviewing his mission. Initially, it had gone perfectly to plan. Three of the new Earth Alliance mobile suits had been recovered, with another being destroyed. That one remained and was now somewhat combat ready was a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

After all, the pilots had all perished along with the senior staff of the Archangel.

The arrival of the Archangel at Heliopolis was a wrinkle, but not for too much longer. He'd ordered his mobile suit team to destroy the docks to trap the Archangel inside the colony before attacking it and the remaining Gundam.

It was an insurance policy in case the Archangel had more firepower than they expected. And, as he told the team, the Earth Alliance would never open fire on a neutral colony to escape.

The only thing that seemed to be unaccounted for in his scheme was the lack of information on Athrun Zala.

It was important for Le Creuset's plan that Athrun was removed from the picture during a mission. It would enrage Chairman Zala to the point where he would instigate a genocidal course of action that would reduce the numbers of the mundane and pathetic Naturals.

Of course, it would also mean that the Chairman would have to be removed from office, after a bloody coup. After all, the noble Coordinator race couldn't possibly allow such a maniac to be in charge.

It was a complicated plan, but Rau Le Creuset felt that a simple plan wouldn't be as effective at punishing all of humanity. A series of colony drops would be effective, but ZAFT would never allow such a plan. Better to allow them to overreact and commit the atrocities themselves.

The blonde man felt a spasm of pain and glanced at the clock. He had lost track of the time as he formulated plans, analysed them and refined them. Reaching for his medication, he swore that he would live up to the name he gave himself and be the crucible that purified things.

"Rectification must not be stopped…" he said as he took his prescribed dose of stabilisers.

* * *

It had not been possible for a real time conversation between the Archangel and the Earth Alliance command. It was frustrating for Lieutenant Ramius as she really needed guidance on what to do about their prisoner.

It didn't help that they couldn't leave Heliopolis just yet, thanks to the extensive damage to the docks. If the ZAFT forces attacked it again, they'd be stuck inside the colony.

Sure, the Archangel had some serious firepower, but the green crew couldn't be expected to fight off mobile suits at the best times. Besides, Ramius was sure that fighting inside a colony was a breach of a treaty somewhere.

Shaking her head, she left Ensign Badgiruel in command of the bridge and left with Lieutenant La Flaga to talk to their prisoner.

The two lieutenants were silent during their walk to the brig, each of them knowing that they were unsuited for such a task.

Mu opened the door and gestured for Murrue to go first. She told the guard to leave them.

"But…"

"Lieutenant La Flaga will be able to protect me," she smiled politely.

"Very well, Ma'am."

After the guard left, Mu sat down opposite Athrun and took a deep breath. "Right, for the record, you are?"

"Athrun Zala, rank: Red Uniform, serial number: 15874-634-S2."

"And what were you doing on Heliopolis?"

"Athrun Zala, rank: Red Uniform, serial number: 15874-634-S2," the Coordinator repeated. "That's all I have to tell you."

Murrue sighed. "Look, Athrun, we know who your father is. We know that complicates things."

"I will not reveal ZAFT secrets," Athrun said defiantly. "That would complicate things further."

Mu suppressed the smirk he felt start to appear on his face. "You're quite right, Athrun. This is the situation, we have to get out of here. Once the docks are repaired, we'll be leaving. Now, mobile suits don't operate without a support vessel. Where's yours?"

"I don't know, but probably in some sensor shadow to hide from you."

The blonde pilot nodded. "OK, let's park that for now. The next question is what should we do with you?"

"You could always let me go," Athrun suggested.

"That's not our call to make," Murrue said. "I have told Earth Alliance Command about you and we're waiting for orders. Now, do we let your ship know you're on board?"

"It would stop them from shooting at us," Mu opined.

"I'm not so sure," Athrun said, a confused look forming on his face. "I'm not sure what's what any more. Everything seemed to go a bit surreal after…"

"After what?" Murrue asked.

"After I… Look, this is going to sound weird," the Coordinator said with a sigh. He took a deep breath and continued. "During the mission, I thought I saw my old friend, Kira Yamato. It was for less than a second, but then a GINN stood on him and started to fire at me and Rusty."

Mu frowned. Children may learn faster than adults, but they were ill-equipped to deal with the things you saw on the battlefield. That this conflict had gone on to the point where teenagers were experiencing the horrors of war was troubling. The years that followed would be tough given that both sides had lost a generation.

"It's true that a GINN did attack, and I did see it kill civilians," the acting captain confirmed. "But because of your actions, you saved me and the Archangel."

"So I saved the enemy… That makes me a traitor, right?"

"More like a moral and compassionate human being," Murrue insisted. "You stopped someone who was committing war crimes."

The intercom sounded. "¬Captain, this is the Bridge. We've had a reply from Command.¬"

"On my way," Ramius said. She turned to Mu and Athrun. "We're done here for now. I'll let you know what Command wants us to do with you shortly."

"OK," Athrun smiled weakly.

* * *

On the bridge, Murrue Ramius was looking at the message for her. The instructions on what to do with Athrun Zala were clear, but far from ideal. She had been ordered to bring the Coordinator with her to Earth Alliance Headquarters in Alaska. There would be a full interrogation of the Chairman's son before the Alliance started negotiating a ceasefire with ZAFT.

She felt bad that a young man would be used in such a way, but these orders were legal and came through the right channels. She contacted the colony management to get an update on the dock repairs.

The response was static.

"Oh crap…" a helmsman muttered as he saw that they were being jammed by some outside source. "Captain, we're being jammed. I think we're about to have company."

"Damn it. What's the ETA on Lieutenant La Flaga's mobile armour?"

"Checking with the technicians now, Ma'am," the communications officer replied. "They say it'll be ready in about six hours."

"SIX HOURS?" Murrue repeated incredulously. "We're about to be attacked and we can't get out of here and they're telling us it's going to take another six hours to prepare it for sortie?"

"They say it wasn't as bad as they first thought, but it still needs some components replacing before they can refuel and rearm."

"Ensign Badgiruel, bring Lieutenant La Flaga to my ready room, we need to talk in private."

"Yes, Captain."

* * *

Rau Le Creuset was giving the final briefing on the pilots before they left to finish off the Archangel.

"Gentlemen, your target priorities are 1) the colony docks, 2) the Archangel, 3) recovery of the remaining G-weapon failing that, its destruction."

"What about Athrun Zala? He didn't make it back to the rendezvous point," a raven-haired pilot asked.

"His status is currently unknown," the blonde admitted. "If you see him, try to bring him back alive. If not, assume he's dead and avenge him. Don't let a single Earth Alliance person live beyond today."

"Yes, Sir!" the pilots shouted in unison.

As the pilots mounted into their GINN mobile suits, Fredrik Ades approached his commanding officer. "Sir, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Is it Athrun's final transmission?"

"Yes, I meant to talk to you during the debriefing, but I've been too busy."

'I know, I made sure of it,' the blonde thought. He nodded. "Apologies, but the appearance of a new battleship did complicate matters. I reviewed the transmission and logs from the other GINNs. It seems that despite the Coordinator's genetic perfection, some imperfect human emotions remain."

"Sir?"

"The pilot, Jens Hollister, it turns out that he had a grudge against the Zala family. I don't know the details, and barely believe it myself, but it would appear that it was serious enough for him to make an attempt on young Athrun's life."

Ades frowned. "But they'd been on missions before without so much as a harsh word spoken between them?"

"Like I said, I don't know the details. I will investigate and produce a formal report for the Chairman. He deserves to know the truth about what happened," Le Creuset said with a solemn tone that fooled all who heard it.

"Thank you, Sir. I'll get back to the bridge."

* * *

In the Archangel ready room, Murrue looked flustered.

"Captain?" Mu asked, concern etched on his face.

"We can't contact Colony Control to find out what's going on with the docks. Turns out we're being jammed, which is what you'd do if you're planning an attack. Your mobile armour is out of action for another few hours. Do we have anything else you could pilot?"

"I…" the blonde thought hard about the other craft on board. "No, there's nothing we can use in combat. Any craft we launched would be picked off with ease."

"Damn it," the acting Captain muttered. "I don't want to deploy the Archangel's weapons because if we do, we're going to destroy most of the colony. We've got two options. One, we try to contact the ZAFT forces and tell them about our prisoner or two…"

"We use an enemy soldier to pilot the remaining Gundam…" Mu finished.

"You can't be serious!" Natarle protested. "You can't put an enemy soldier in the most advanced weapon system we have and expect him to kill his comrades to protect us!"

"I don't like it, either, Ensign," Murrue sighed. "But unless you have a better option, work on a way to contact the ZAFT ship to let them know we have Athrun while we look at our piloting options."

"I'll see what I can do with the communications, Captain," the Ensign saluted.

Mu let out a sigh when he and Murrue were alone. "Captain… I… I might be able to find something, but I'll need some help from Athrun."

"What's your plan?"

"See if I can get the mobile armour OS to run on the Gundam. He rewrote some of it on the fly, so he might be able to help. It's the only way we can get out of here without putting him on the front line or blowing a hole in the colony wall."

"Make it happen, Lieutenant La Flaga."

* * *

Chairman Zala woke to his phone ringing out in the middle of the night. Frowning, he picked up the phone. "This is Patrick Zala, start talking."

"¬Sir, there's been a…¬" a nervous man started.

"If it's important enough to call me in the middle of the night, it's too important for euphemisms. Just give me the facts."

"¬Your son, he's a prisoner of the Earth Alliance.¬"

"Is he alright?"

"¬I… we don't know. We know he was captured after the raid on Heliopolis, he's on the Archangel.¬"

"That's the new battleship class…" the Chairman mused. "Right, what do the Naturals want?"

"¬T-they haven't given any demands yet, but they haven't actually officially told us that they have him, it's only from intercepted messages, but our agents at JOSH-A are working to confirm,¬" the man answered, his earlier nervousness settling down.

"In that case, tell Le Creuset to stand down. We need official confirmation. It's imperative that my son is returned to me unharmed. I am I making myself clear?"

"¬Crystal, sir.¬"

* * *

Rau Le Creuset glared at the orders he'd just received. "Stand down? How can we stand down now? We're about to deliver a killing blow!"

"It seems that we've had intel that Athrun Zala is on the legged ship," Fredrik Ades added.

The masked man grit his teeth in frustration. "Send the recall signal to the mobile suits, we're standing down."

This was just another thing that Rau would have to punish humanity for. Though, it did hint that there were more unknown variables than he'd accounted for in his plans. The blonde smiled. "I guess it's their lucky day."

* * *

Murrue Ramius looked at the radar operator in disbelief.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, Ma'am, the mobile suits are retreating."

"Communications are clearing up, too," the comm tech added. "We can get real time communications with Alaska."

"Fantastic. Put them on screen."

* * *

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Why is the Milka cow lilac?

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

The diplomatic channels were ablaze with communiques, something no-one in the political classes of either the Earth Alliance of ZAFT had seen in a long time.

It started with the rumour that Chairman Zala's son was a hostage aboard an Earth Alliance ship. That lead to the suggestion that there could be a negotiated peace deal to see the return of the Zala scion.

The High Command of the Earth Alliance military sat around their table, knowing that commodities and futures brokers started to get wind of this potential change in the conflict and now the financial markets were starting to stir.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we have been handed a gift from the gods in this conflict. We have Patrick Zala's son aboard the Archangel," a Vice Admiral said.

"The Archangel is stuck inside Heliopolis thanks to the damage to the docks," Rear Admiral Haliburton added. "He might as well be in orbit around Jupiter for all good it's going to do us."

"A controlled burst from the Archangel's beam weapons could-" Captain Sutherland started to suggest.

"Could bring the whole colony down around their heads," Haliburton interrupted. "Not to mention that we still don't know how many civilians we need to evacuate. To not do anything to protect those neutral civilians would be a crime."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Rear Admiral Haliburton," the Vice Admiral said, acknowledging the importance of keeping non-combatants alive. "My point is this, we can use this to negotiate a ceasefire, maybe even an end to the war."

"How do we know that ZAFT will honour any agreement once Zala gets his son back?" a voice called out.

"Think of what they'd risk if they broke the treaty – everyone would see that they're not to be trusted. That has serious implications. Besides, no-one here is saying that we're going to disarm as part of any treaty. We'll be able to keep them in check."

"How?" Sutherland asked. He hated Coordinators. It was human nature to distrust the unknown, but how could you ever trust something that wasn't natural?

"Just because we've ceased hostilities, it doesn't mean we've shut down the armaments factories. It'll be a pause to that will allow us to catch our breaths and redeploy where we need to. Short of one side annihilating the other, our best hope for peace is a negotiated settlement."

There were murmurs of both agreement and dissent at the Vice Admiral's words.

"I agree," Captain Sutherland nodded. "It will prove that we're better than them."

That comment reeked of a Blue Cosmos propaganda leaflet, but it was correct. One could not engineer compassion and magnanimity into a human being.

"Then we will send the message that we're willing to negotiate a ceasefire and a peace treaty with ZAFT."

* * *

Siegel Clyne had been Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council until December of 70, CE. He had planned to see out his term as Chairman, but after the sudden death of his wife, he stepped down to spend more time with his daughter, Lacus.

Despite his retirement, he was kept abreast of political events and used as an advisor to the current Chairman, Patrick Zala and the rest of the Supreme Council.

He sat in on the Council meeting where they discussed the new message from the Earth Alliance.

"So, they want to negotiate a peace treaty?" Eileen Canaver asked rhetorically. "I suppose it makes sense. They know they've lost three of their new mobile suits, so they're on the back foot."

"They have my son," Patrick Zala said sternly.

"Both sides have people's sons," Jeremy Maxwell countered. "We never considered negotiating a peace treaty before."

"You don't understand," the Chairman replied, standing up and slamming a fist onto the table. "I didn't order Le Creuset to stand down because Athrun is my child."

The rest of the Council stared at Patrick in confusion. He adjusted his uniform.

"Athrun is not just the product of a genetic union between me and my wife, Lenore. Need I remind you that he is the fiancé of Lacus Clyne? Siegel, would you see your daughter in tears because we failed to negotiate her fiancé's return out of pride?"

"No," Siegel answered. "But I would be selfish to put my family's happiness over the future of ZAFT."

"True. And I am not suggesting that we break any treaty we sign once we get Athrun back."

"Then what are you suggesting, Chairman?" Herman Gould asked. "From one reading of their communique, they're only willing to return him upon signing a peace treaty, not just a ceasefire. And if we're not careful, they'll make outrageous demands thinking that Athrun is the most important thing to ZAFT."

Patrick clenched his fist. If only the fools on the Council knew what he did... If only he could tell them about Ulen Hibiki's work on the "Ultimate Coordinator"... Then they could see the glorious future that awaited them...

He needed to get Athrun back to a ZAFT lab and soon. If Hibiki was to be believed, then Athrun would be the cure to their problems.

"Get Athrun back. We will honour any reasonable treaty, but we cannot disarm. Not with those Luddites in Blue Cosmos threatening our very existence," the Chairman said. He stood up and took on fearsome expression. "If they harm my son, I will rain down a fury upon them that will scare the Devil himself from Hell. Use those words."

"Yes, sir," Eileen Canaver nodded. She knew just who to pick from the Diplomatic Corps to make this happen.

* * *

Rau Le Creuset started to pace in his quarters as he processed the developments from the fallout of his mission to steal the Gundams.

Rectification was never going to be an easy task, but the imminent ceasefire certainly complicated matters. Peace would mean that the numbers didn't add up. At least, not yet and certainly without some other intervening factor.

The blonde man pondered the change of heart from Chairman Zala. While it wasn't doubted that Patrick Zala wanted his son to live, he had often deliberately put a distance between himself and Athrun. Nepotism hadn't ever seemed like something Patrick Zala approved of.

So if Athrun wasn't being groomed for politics, what was it that motivated the Chairman? He risked a great deal calling for peace talks like this; the Earth Alliance held a significant advantage as things stood.

The Naturals liked to think that they could maintain the moral high ground, so the Earth Alliance would not threaten to execute Athrun Zala. Some in their ranks would consider it. But then, some in their ranks would think that the death of a Coordinator would help them win the war.

"One less potential enemy" and all that.

Blue Cosmos were idiots. Bigots fuelled by the politics of envy and their inability to grasp great ideas and greater ideals. They were an evolutionary dead end and their continued existence reflected poorly on humanity.

Rau had heard about the threat to unleash a furious retribution upon Earth if something happened to Athrun and he believed it. In fact, he was counting on it. It wouldn't do for the Chairman of the Supreme Council to allow his son to be killed without retribution and if he unleashed the fury that sprang to mind, countless Naturals on Earth would perish.

But Rau knew that he couldn't break the ceasefire or the potential treaty without looking like a traitor. He had spent too long working too hard to be picked up for disloyalty now. He would have to go along with the official ZAFT guidelines, but that was OK. He was patient. His shortened telomeres might mean he could expect an early death, but he could plan ahead with the best of them. A few months preparing while the targets of Rectification decided what they wanted was just the thing he needed.

But there was something in this apparent change of heart that seemed wrong to the blonde pilot. There was more to this situation than met the eyes. If only he still had access to the work of Ulen Hibiki, then he would know more about Athrun Zala's potential.

* * *

Athrun attempted to rest in his cell awaiting news about his captivity. He half expected to be ransomed off for a fortune in gold or some other valuable commodity. Not that he expected his father to pay it.

He also wondered if ZAFT would launch a rescue mission. His former teammates, Dearka Elsman, Yzak Joule and Nichol Amarfi would volunteer for such a mission. He missed them.

Until a few months ago, they were all under the command of Rau Le Creuset. Then there had been some reassignments that confused everyone. Not one of the former team had any disciplinary problems. They were all competent pilots with a number of kills each. But for some reason, the team had been broken up and only Athrun and Rusty had remained under the command or Rau Le Creuset.

If Dearka, Yzak and Nichol had all been there, things would have turned out differently. They would have gotten away with all of the G-Weapons. Rusty would still be alive.

"Rusty…" the Coordinator mused. He felt his eyes moisten at the loss of a comrade in arms. He knew he could expect death at any time when on a mission, but to see someone killed like that was traumatising.

Almost as traumatising as the way he saw his old friend, Kira Yamato, killed.

Athrun shuddered at the memory of seeing someone barely two metres away from him being crushed to death by a mobile suit. That it was the same mobile suit that killed Rusty and those three civilians angered him.

Sure, there had been a measure of revenge when he'd climbed inside the Strike Gundam, but it boggled the mind to think that a traitor could get onto someone like Rau Le Creuset's team.

The door opened and in walked Mu La Flaga and Murrue Ramius.

"Athrun Zala, we have some news for you," Murrue explained.

"Oh?" the Coordinator asked, rising from his cot.

"There's good news and bad news. The good news is that when the dock is repaired in the next 17 hours, we should be able to leave Heliopolis without any problems."

"And the bad?"

"You're going to be a guest of the Earth Alliance for some time. It seems that your father has called some talks to negotiate a peace treaty. It's also how we're able to get out of here, there's a ceasefire due to take effect tomorrow."

"So, I'm a bargaining chip?" the Coordinator asked, feeling dehumanised by the news about his future. He let out a sigh and looked at the hitherto silent blonde. "I guess that it could be worse. Anything else to tell me?"

"Rumour has it that the Chairman made quite the threat if you were harmed," Mu answered. "So it's in everyone's best interests if you don't do anything that endangers your life."

"Father said that? I guess I matter to him more than I thought…"Athrun looked surprised at knowledge his normally distant father threatened people over his safe return.

While Athrun hadn't been mistreated by Patrick, there was a distance that had seemed to grow over the years. He'd asked his mother about it before his graduation from the academy and she'd said it was to do with ensuring that his achievements were his alone and not due to his father's influence. It had felt strange at first, but now that he'd thought about it and seen several people promoted beyond their capabilities thanks to their parents, it made perfect sense.

And now it seemed that he'd done enough to warrant his father's approval and protection.

The Coordinator smiled.

"We will be checking in with the ZAFT diplomatic service to confirm that you're still alive and well in about twelve hours or so. They'll ask a few questions and demand proof of life. After that, we'll leave Heliopolis and head back to Earth," Murrue explained. "Is that OK?"

"It's fine. I won't try to escape and endanger everyone, you have my word on that."

* * *

The following day, ZAFT security services examined every frame of the footage the diplomatic corps proved them from their interview with Athrun Zala.

They looked for signs that he'd been interrogated or tortured for information. For any indication he had revealed military secrets or otherwise betrayed them. Their investigation included colour analysis for bruises being covered up or malnutrition, and body language and voice analysis for signs of duress.

They concluded that he wasn't being mistreated, but the was something in the footage that raised flags as to his well-being.

A few of the agents discussed the possibilities. It was clear that Athrun had seen or experienced something horrific recently, either the death of a friend or something unpleasant at the hands of the Earth Alliance forces he was with. He didn't seem to be in any pain when they made him move around, so he hadn't been physically tortured.

Captain Michael Warner handed his team's report to Patrick Zala.

"So, what's your opinion, Captain?" asked the Chairman.

"It's our considered opinion that Athrun Zala is in good physical condition. He has not been tortured or beaten by the Earth Alliance."

"But there's something not right with his eyes," Patrick commented as he flicked through the document.

"We think he's got some PTSD. It's possible that he saw some of his team killed in a particularly gruesome fashion before he was captured," the Captain answered.

The Chairman frowned. If Athrun was too psychologically damaged, his plan would fail. He looked on at a later still from the video interview and relaxed slightly. 'It's not as bad as I feared. Actually… Yes, this looks like just right…'

"Sir?"

"As it stands, Athrun Zala is in fine condition. We must keep him that way," Patrick stated matter-of-factly. "The negotiations aren't your remit, but you and your department will assist the Diplomatic Services in any way they ask. We have to strike the balance of bringing Athrun back to PLANT as soon as we can and not giving everything away in the treaty negotiations. Those are your instructions, go do what you have to."

"Sir," the intelligence operative saluted before returning to his department.

When he was alone, Patrick looked at the still where his son was smiling. 'Yes, just the right amount of vulnerability.'

* * *

The ceasefire had settled over the battlefields without too much trouble. Some of the more fanatical ZAFT troops had protested at first, but the threat of having to deal with Chairman Zala's wrath soon quelled any dissent. Apparently, the threat that he would rain down a fury the likes of which had never been seen before upon the Earth Alliance also suggested to the rank and file that the Chairman might just personally execute anyone who endangered his son's life.

Patrick Zala had merely smiled enigmatically when he'd heard this rumours, fuelling them further.

Lenore, his beloved wife, had wondered just how far her husband would be willing to go for the return of their son.

At the dinner table, she delicately broached the subject about this apparent change of heart over a chocolate soufflé.

"Patrick, how can I put this?" Lenore said, carefully scooping some of the delicate dessert with her spoon. "People are wondering about Athrun."

"He's my son," Patrick smiled. "Surely any father would do what he could to protect his son?"

"Al Da Flaga never cared for his son, Mu."

"He was a fanatic with a number of issues, Lenore, you know that. But point taken. Yes, I was a little distant during some of Athrun's formative years, but I wanted him to succeed because of the sweat on his own brow, not because he happened to be my son. Is that so bad?"

"No, not at all. I mean, history is littered with examples of what happens when someone inherits something they're not ready for. The Supreme Council, and probably most of the PLANT population, were wondering what brought on this threat to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth."

Patrick nodded. He placed his spoon in the now empty dish before him. "Athrun is… Well, shall we say that he's more than the sum of his parts?"

Lenore's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you saying?"

"It's a long story, one that began a number of years ago…"

* * *

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4 (Or Some Back Story for You)

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: For a corpse, she was surprisingly posable.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

16th of January in the year 52 of the Cosmic Era

* * *

Dr. Ulen Hibiki typed away at the keyboard that controlled the genetic fate of his only son. The browned haired man was hoping that his course of action would lead the future generations of humanity away from the random, chaotic nature of its past.

"This will make him the Ultimate Coordinator," the geneticist declared as he completed the resequencing that would turn his son from a Natural to what he considered to be the pinnacle of genetic engineering.

At least, that was the his plan.

His wife, Via, had some strongly held views about their planned children. She wanted at least one natural child, one that was 'conceived, gestated and birthed in the traditional method', though caesarian section hadn't been ruled out. Via was well aware that sometimes, there were complications and an emergency C-section was the only way to save both mother and child.

Ulen was not too bothered about the insistence on having a natural child. After all, Via was a beautiful woman who regularly aroused lustful thoughts in the geneticist. It was one of the reasons he married her. He saw it as a roll of the genetic dice and occasionally, one came up with a winning result.

It was just that sometimes, it was best stack the odds in your favour.

Which was part of this latest friction in his marital relationship. He wanted a child that would be the pinnacle of genetic perfection. In order to do that, he would require the child gestate in an artificial womb rather than as an in vitro fertilised embryo. Despite centuries of work in human fertilisation and embryology, artificially fertilised embryos didn't always gestate inside a human womb.

Via felt that in utero enhancement could still work, but she didn't quite understand just how perfect their child could be if he was allowed to follow his plans. She was yet another who saw his genius, but failed to grasp just how far it could take them.

Looking at the clock, Ulen sighed. It was late and he needed to get home. Being late every day wouldn't convince his wife to go along with his plan. He was about to close down his computer for the night when he noticed an email that had arrived several hours ago. Feeling that he could safely ignore any message that had been acknowledged so late in the day, he was about to close it when his curiosity got the better of him.

'I don't have to read, just see who sent it,' he told himself. "Probably just some promotional message…"

The scientist blinked. 'Patrick Zala?'

The sender was a junior council member, but one who was said to be destined for big things. A potentially important client, though not as useful as Al Da Flaga.

Ulen thought about forwarding the message to his mobile computer, but felt that he'd spent enough time on work for one day and decided that his home life was more important.

* * *

Walking into his home, he was surprised to see that he'd got a visitor.

"Via, who's our guest?" he asked, stepping into the living room.

"Forgive me," the blonde man said, rising to his feet. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Patrick Zala."

"Councilman Zala, I'm Dr. Ulen Hibiki," the scientist replied with a polite bow of his head.

"So you've heard of me?"

"I recognised the name, but I don't know your politics. What can I do for you this evening?"

"I want a child. And who better to help me, than the premier geneticist in all of PLANT?" Zala smiled flatteringly.

Ulen let out a breath before giving a polite smile. "I'd like to help you, but the office hours are 9 to 5 Monday through Friday."

"Doctor Hibiki, is there anywhere we could we talk in private for moment? I think you'll like what I have to say."

The geneticist raised an eyebrow, but gestured to the dining room.

"OK, Councilman, what's so important that you come to my office at such an hour?" he asked when the two of them were alone.

"I also know about your work to create the Ultimate Coordinator," Patrick said solemnly. "I can assist you in your project."

"Really?" Ulen asked. "And just how can you assist me?"

The politician looked around. "I can give you the ideal test subject. And I can have certain controlled substances brought into your lab with no questions."

Ulen nodded. "You're implying a great deal here, Councilman."

"Yes, I am. I also know about Al Da Flaga's request."

The scientist started to sweat a little.

"I don't care what he wanted, his goals are his own. I'm led to believe that your work for him has helped you come close to completing your work," Patrick said. "Make my son the Ultimate Coordinator, and your research will want for nothing."

"It's not that easy," Ulen insisted. "I can't just engineer a genetically perfect child from a few strands of DNA and a matching set of gametes."

"If it was that easy, Coordinators would have emerged long ago, Doctor." The politician turned to leave. "Think on my offer, Dr. Hibiki."

* * *

Later that evening, Via asked what their visitor wanted.

"He wants me to help him with a son," Ulen said, glossing over several details.

Via frowned. "Isn't that a bit like getting a neurosurgeon to deal with an ingrowing toenail? Yes, you can do it, but it's a waste of your talents."

"I know. I'll send him some recommendations in the morning."

"Good. Now give me kiss and we can start working on our natural baby…"

* * *

The following morning, Ulen Hibiki walked into his office to see that he had a visitor.

"Councilman Zala, how can I help you this morning?"

"I have it on good authority that the PLANT Science Commission are intending to do a search for illegal genetic research in the very near future. I would hate for your excellent work to be tarnished in some way," the politician smiled. "I also hear that certain enzymes used in RNA replication are in short supply."

"Yes, it's slowing down some of the lab's work," Ulen answered. He was getting the hint that he should accommodate Patrick Zala's request from the night before.

"I might be able to ensure that this facility has top priority on any shipments. Of course, I couldn't possibly promise anything. It would corrupt of us to come to any such arrangement."

"Of course," the scientist nodded. "Is there anything else we can do for you today?"

"I was just wondering if you could recommend someone to assist me with my family planning," Patrick replied.

"I might be able to fit you in for a consultation on Monday morning. Is that of any use to you?"

"I shall clear my calendar for the whole day. Do you have any 'materials' for me to take away?" the politician's words suggesting that he shouldn't just be walking away with a couple of pamphlets.

"One moment, Councilman."

* * *

That afternoon, there was a visit from some officials from the PLANT Science Commission, just as Patrick Zala had mentioned. They searched through inventory to check for discrepancies in what supplies they were ordering and what they were using. Forensic computer experts looked through the servers for references to cloning and other illegal activities, but they found nothing.

Everyone was happy that Ulen Hibiki and his team were acting within both the spirit and the letter of the law. One of the agents even commented positively on the quality of the coffee they'd been offered.

As the investigators left the lab, Ulen Hibiki wondered if he'd been lucky or sent a message. He looked at the clock and realised that there was nothing that they were going to be able to do in the remaining time, he ordered everyone to tidy up and go home early. He locked up his personal office and made his way home. He felt the need to discuss things with his wife over dinner.

* * *

Via Hibiki was surprised to see Ulen preparing to serve up dinner for them.

"Is everything alright, Ulen?"

"I… I don't know. I need to talk to someone about things. I got a visit from Patrick Zala earlier."

"Oh?"

Ulen recounted the conversation he'd had earlier and the visit from the Science Commission over the main course. "We passed the inspection, but I can't help but feel I've been sent the message that if I don't help Patrick Zala, I might find myself inconvenienced."

"It does seem that way," Via nodded. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, either I compromise my work for sake of ethics or I indulge in yet another patron's whims," the geneticist sighed. "I can't just walk away from all the effort I've put into the Ultimate Coordinator project."

"… Would it be so bad if it wasn't our son who was the Ultimate Coordinator?"

"Well… I suppose not. And it's not like I can't use the same techniques to make our own children better. Though, there is only one artificial womb at the moment," Ulen said absently.

"Then I will bear both children, Ulen," Via said resolutely. "Please… We could have one of each and…"

"Via… I…" Ulen sighed. He loved his wife and wanted to see her happy, but this wasn't like handbag shopping where having one of each to match outfits was a simple transaction. Raising a child was hard work at the best of times. Not to mention the pregnancy could have any number of complications, what if only one of the embryos took? What if the Coordinator embryo caused the other to miscarry?

What if one embryo it absorbed the other to create a chimera?

There was a lot of risk to Via's request, but if she left him because he wouldn't do this, Ulen would never forgive himself.

"Please, Ulen, what if the first was a Natural? It would allow you to refine things for the second child…"

Taking a deep breath the geneticist nodded. It was the best solution. "Very well, Via. We'll do it this way. Our first child will be a Natural and the second a Coordinator, with it being gestated in the artificial womb if it's available."

* * *

The following Monday, Patrick Zala entered the office of Ulen Hibiki. He brought with him the storage media that Ulen had given him.

"Good morning, Doctor. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to review the materials you gave me last week," the politician said knowingly.

"Ah, a shame, but we've got all day to discuss your case," the geneticist said as he took back his test data.

"Indeed," Patrick said, handing over a list of traits he wanted his son to have. "As far as I'm concerned, my son must have these qualities. They are non-negotiable."

They were the usual traits a Coordinator would have, though the enhanced tolerance to lactic acid was only something that was just becoming a practical modification. Evidently, Patrick Zala knew what the state of the art was when it came to genetic engineering.

"I don't see any problems with this profile," Ulen said with a smile.

"Good. Now, in a highly hypothetical situation, what sort of trait would you say the Ultimate Coordinator would have? Are we talking an immune system that could fight off a bear? Bone density that rivals rocks?"

"Not quite, but they aren't far off what we could discuss. I'm assuming that you don't have a particular time frame that you have to meet."

"Not exactly, but let's just say that sooner is better than later," Patrick answered. "I hear that there's only one artificial womb available and that you'd like to use it for your own son."

"I would like another, but unfortunately, I can't quite get the parts to make it. Perhaps you could assist with the importing of certain components?"

"Perhaps. There is one thing that's of concern to me that I haven't listed, Doctor. I'm hearing reports of fertility problems in third generation Coordinators. My son would be third generation. I would like for there to be a fourth."

"Ah, I see."

A silence descended on the office.

Ulen blinked as inspiration hit him. "There is something we could try, but it will require some delicate work and it won't be cheap, but if we can pull it off, we might just be able to solve the problem of fertility."

"Doctor Hibiki, if what you're telling me is correct, then your budget will be as vast as the potential of the Ultimate Coordinator." Patrick stood up. "Start making preparations, as this will be your laboratory's sole task starting next week. You will report directly to me, and I will see that you have all that you need."

"Thank you, Councilman Zala."

* * *

The good news that his lab was about to be more than fully funded on a single task energised Ulen Hibiki greatly. It was something that Via noticed the moment he walked back into the family home.

It was hard not to notice the way he'd picked her up and danced around with her before giving her a passionate kiss on the lips.

"Good day at the office then?" she teased.

"Magnificent day, my love. My whole lab will be focused on the Ultimate Coordinator project, and we're going to get some unofficial official backing."

"I don't understand, what do you mean by 'unofficial official backing'."

"Chairman Zala has promised me everything I need to make this happen."

"He did seem like an intelligent man when I talked to him," Via smiled. "But won't this cause trouble?"

"He's not like Al Da Flaga, thinking that he can flout the rules because he has money and influence. He shares my vision for the future of Coordinators. In fact, his son might be able to bridge the gap between Natural and Coordinator!"

"Well, if you're feeling creative, there is something you should know…"

"There is?"

Via nodded. "I'm at the most fertile part of my cycle at the moment. You did promise me a natural child…"

Ulen held his wife tightly. "No time like the present…"

* * *

Over the course of the next few weeks, Ulen Hibiki began his simulations on genetic sequences. Patrick Zala was true to his word and the lab had been able to access the colony's most powerful supercomputers. What would have taken them days to model was now taking mere hours.

The bulk of the DNA selection was not a problem, given that Patrick and Lenore Zala's DNA had already been filtered for defects. Most of the predispositions had already been identified and removed, but it was the more advanced aspects of the synthetic genome that were causing the team problems.

Bone density seemed to be linked to a cluster that acted as pigment for hair. If the child was to have the bone density that suggested it evolved in a high gravity world, as per the suggestion from the Councilman, then it would have a hair colour not found in Naturals.

Not that hair colours seemed to be a problem with most of the parents of Coordinators. Many of them considered the hues as badges of honour and proof that their offspring weren't the products of a genetic lottery. Besides, dyeing one's hair had been a cosmetic option for centuries.

The biggest problem that seemed to stump the team was the fertility issue. While it was likely that the Zala son would have its children via artificial fertilisation, the odds of the sperm being viable were still too low for Doctor Hibiki's liking. They tried everything they could to improve the chances for the Coordinator, but nothing seemed to improve the odds above 5 percent.

For the time being, they placed that part of the project on hold, choosing to complete the other tasks.

* * *

Nine months later, and Via Hibiki gave birth to her daughter, Cagalli. She was a strong, healthy baby that smiled at everyone around her. Everyone on the colony that had seen her agreed that Cagalli was adorable.

Looking back, it would be easy to assume that the spike in births that happened over the next year were due to a number of women feeling broody at the sight of such a beautiful young girl.

The administrators of the colony were not bothered by the reason, just that there was going to be a new generation to continue the colony's existence.

* * *

Over the next two years, Patrick Zala's patience and support of Ulen Hibiki had remained strong. It was something that had surprised the geneticist, given the lack of progress he'd had on the fertility issue.

He was not often visited by the councilman, as it was clear that standing over his shoulder would not produce the results they wanted. So when Patrick Zala appeared at the office with his wife, Ulen knew that it was serious.

"Councilman Zala, how can I help you today?"

"My wife… There's a problem."

"There is?"

"I…" Lenore tried to find the words. "I'm having a few problems with my…"

Ulen realised that this was a bit of a problem, but tried to reassure the woman. "Mrs. Zala, your child will be gestated in the artificial womb, so you do not need to worry about such things."

"I… Don't mean that, Doctor. I talked with my physician and she said that I have blocked fallopian tubes."

This was a problem that Ulen hadn't considered. He made a mental note to research into the rates of such problems to determine if that was why fertility rates were declining and if he could do anything about it. "I fear you will require surgery in order to harvest your eggs. Don't worry, we can do it laparoscopically so there wouldn't be a noticeable scar."

"Thank you doctor," Lenore smiled.

"How is the research going, Doctor?" Patrick asked.

"I… Well, we've still got that problem to overcome."

"You've not made any progress over the last two years," the Councilman replied. "I have been very patient with you and your project."

"True, but this isn't something that can just be resolved with the flick of a switch," Ulen insisted.

"I'm sure that there will be a breakthrough soon, Doctor," Patrick said, a hint of a warning creeping into his voice. "Perhaps your team could do with some fresh blood?"

"Fresh blood…" the geneticist repeated, clearly distracted by something. "Yes, fresh blood. Not for the team, but that might explain why we're not getting where we need to. Yes, thank you Councilman, Mrs. Zala, but I've got work to do on the artificial womb."

* * *

Ulen Hibiki's flash of inspiration about the fertility problem soon petered out when all of the simulations showed that it wasn't the lack of an artificial womb that was hampering the viability of the fourth generation of Coordinator.

A recent study showed that it seemed that it was a lack of randomisation amongst the gametes that affected fertility just as much as anything else. That jumbling of DNA that seemed so imprecise was what was keeping the Coordinators from remaining fertile.

Perhaps the key to the continued fertility would be for a Coordinator to mate with a Natural? A blend of precision with chaos?

'Chairman Zala would never approve,' Ulen mused. "Maybe I should just admit defeat?"

His daughter walked up to him. "Daddy."

"Oh, hello, Cagalli. What do you want?" he asked, leaning down to pick up his child.

"Why are you sad, Daddy?"

"I've got a problem that I can't solve, Cagalli. If I can't solve it, I'll get into trouble."

"Oh…" Cagalli replied, not really understanding.

Having his daughter on his lap made Ulen thoughts turn back to when Cagalli had been born and how a number of women had felt broody. 'Almost like a pheromone had triggered something…'

"Pheromone… Yes, that might work."

"Daddy?"

"Sorry, Cagalli, but I've got to get back to work. Where's your mother?"

"Here," Via said from the doorway. "So, back to the office?"

"Yes, I've got a new idea for the fertility problem."

"I see, well, just remember that my sister is coming over to visit tomorrow, so it would be nice if you could put in an appearance for more than five minutes."

"I'll be here and I'll be in a fit state for a conversation, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that, Ulen."

* * *

Back at his lab, Ulen started to work on a synthetic pheromone gland. He didn't like this idea, but it was the only thing he could think of to increase the chances of fertility.

As he waited for a simulation to run on how best to stimulate hormonal responses, he poured himself more coffee and thought about the effects of what this would mean for the people the Zala boy encountered.

The more that he thought about this approach to increasing the chances of him getting a woman pregnant, the more it felt like using a shotgun to get an apple from a tree.

He started to scrap this idea, realising that it had too many flaws. Increase his appeal to women to improve the odds of productive union? No, Patrick Zala would not approve of his son being a playboy. It would reflect badly on him.

Cancelling the simulation, Ulen started to leave for home. It was late, he was tired and he promised to be around for his sister-in-law's visit.

* * *

The following day, Ulen was chatting to his wife and sister-in-law. The conversation turned to fruit, as Caridad had brought over some of her homemade raspberry jam in addition to some fresh fruit.

"I'm jealous that you've got such a knack for this sort of thing," Ulen smiled. "While I have created, aside from Cagalli, I've had to resort to the lab. To be able to do so naturally is impressive."

"Growing a few plants isn't that impressive," the indigo-haired woman insisted. "You just need patience and a willingness to do a bit of research. Besides, it's only fruit."

"Ah, fruit. A mechanism to entice animals to eat and disperse the seed of the parent plant," the geneticist said wistfully as he looked at the fresh plums that Caridad had brought with her. His expression turned excited. "Yes, fruit! Their fleshy parts are enough to convince the animals to eat it and carry the seed away. Sometimes, the flesh is enough to assist the growth of the seed."

"Ulen?" Caridad asked. "Is everything alright at work?"

"I might have just found the solution to my problem. I'm very sorry, but I need to get to the lab to run some simulations. It's a pleasure to see you as always, but I've got to go."

* * *

When the simulation bleeped that it would work, Ulen Hibiki jumped for joy. He knew that one simulation did not make a breakthrough, but he was close. If he could repeat the results, then he knew exactly how he needed to proceed with this fertility problem.

It would require some serious modification to the son's DNA, but if he could pass on that gene, then there would be no more fertility issues with Coordinators.

The second simulation came up with a slightly different result to the first, but it made perfect sense. After all, if a woman wasn't ovulating, then the support from what was technically a nutritional supplement wouldn't benefit an embryo.

"Now we're getting somewhere," the scientist said as he started to look into what alterations needed to be made.

* * *

The following day, he submitted his findings to his team. "It sounds crazy, but I think I might have cured our little fertility problem. I ran three simulations last night and they all gave me similar results."

"How?" the senior researcher asked. "We tried everything from changing hormone exposure during gestation to altering haploid division."

"Fruit. Or rather, that's what gave me the idea," Ulen said.

One of the other researchers looked over the notes. "Yes... this might work."

"This is probably more like fortifying soil before planting a seed than fruit, but I saw fruit yesterday and it's what pointed me in this direction. I was up all night running these numbers, so I'm going get some rest. Wake me when you've got some results."

* * *

Three weeks later, Doctor Hibiki called for Councilman Zala to give him the good news.

"I think I've cracked it, Councilman," he said excitedly. "All of the simulations and tests we've done so far have been successful."

"¬Excellent work, Dr. Hibiki. I'm glad that my faith in you was not misplaced. Now, when can we expect the gestation to begin?¬"

"I need to do the alterations to the gametes, but we are looking at three days from now."

"¬I will see that you are properly rewarded, Doctor.¬"

* * *

Via Hibiki was glowing. It was something that everyone around her noticed.

"Do we need to take a trip to my lab, Via?" Ulen asked his wife. He hadn't expected his breakthrough to be that successful in the marital bed, but was not going to complain. Especially since his wife looked happy.

"I believe so, dear. I think it's going to be a boy this time."

"In that case, I think Kira would be a good name. Can you get your sister to look after Cagalli while we're gone?"

* * *

To be continued…

Yeah, I know that Ulen has already compromised his ethics by working with Al Da Flaga, but I'm going with the idea that he didn't tell his wife everything about his work. I'm not sure that she would have agreed to help someone like Al Da Flaga with what he wanted.

Next chapter will be back in the present time-frame. If you're still interested in reading this nonsense, I mean.


	5. Chapter 5

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

Disclaim-me-do: Remember – alien sex is danger sex.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

15th of February year 71 of the Cosmic Era

* * *

The ceasefire between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance was holding with few problems. Some of the front line troops on both sides were twitchy, but cooler heads prevailed. Now the peace talks could begin, with Copernicus City on the moon selected as the venue.

There had been some debate amongst the ZAFT negotiating team about why Athrun was suddenly incredibly important to the Chairman. After all, Athrun was a mobile suit pilot, a dangerous occupation during a time of war. If Patrick really cared about his son's well-being, then he would have put him in a safer deployment.

They all knew that there was more to this than they had been briefed upon, but that didn't stop them from discussing things on the shuttle ride to Copernicus City.

Several theories were put forward, including one about an inheritance that required a viable heir to the Zala bloodline. Some unseen and unknown patriarch of the Zala family demanding that Athrun be able to take his place upon Supreme Council once he came of age.

This "dynasty theory" was rejected when it was mentioned that the Zala family had three members, Patrick, Lenore and Athrun, though the proponent suggested that Patrick could be trying to forge one himself.

A popular one was that Patrick wanted some kind of reconciliation with his son. It was known that Patrick had been a distant father, perhaps he was dying and wanted to end his life on good terms with his child. It made sense, but the Chairman had been in perfect health with not so much as a sprained ankle or sniffle.

The last idea they had time to discuss was that it was actually Lenore Zala who had decided to launch the diplomatic initiative to retrieve her son. It made sense, as she had always been closer to Athrun than Patrick, but could it really be that Lenore was the power behind the throne? After all, there was that old saying "if momma ain't happy, then ain't nobody gonna be happy."

It was an intriguing idea, but there was no proof to it. Lenore had always gone about her business in a professional method with no apparent interest in the governance of the colonies.

Regardless of their theories, it was time to dock at Copernicus City.

The dozen men and women from ZAFT met the delegation from the Earth Alliance.

The Earth Ambassador introduced himself as Eduardo Suarez, a man of olive complexion and thick, black hair. "Greetings, welcome to Copernicus City. I trust your journey was a pleasant one."

"It was," the lead ZAFT negotiator, Marie Peterson, smiled politely. "Now, I believe that we should get to secured facilities. It wouldn't do for us to come to harm before the peace talks begin, would it?"

"Of course," Suarez smiled. He gestured for the delegation to get into the official limousines.

* * *

The capture of Athrun Zala had Lacus Clyne worried. Her relationship with her arranged fiancé had grown from the polite interactions one might expect from a political union to genuine concern for his well-being.

Athrun's continued incarceration was taking a toll on the pop star. Her appetite was non-existent and her performances were below par. Her management were beginning to get nervous. If she was unable to perform in an upcoming concert, they would have to start looking at taking drastic measures.

Lacus was sitting at home when her father arrived with a visitor. She glanced out the window and saw that it was Patrick Zala. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach form as she greeted them into the family home.

"Father, Chairman Zala," the pink-haired girl smiled politely.

"Lacus," Patrick said, nodding his head in acknowledgement of his future daughter-in-law. "Would it possible to have some coffee? There are a few things we should discuss."

"A-about A-Athrun?"

"Yes, but don't worry, we've got some good things to talk about."

Lacus nodded and left for the kitchen.

Siegel frowned slightly. "I think you could have worded that a bit more delicately, Patrick."

"Probably, but my capacity for pleasantries is already reaching its limits."

The pair sat down and waited for Lacus to return with the coffee.

"How do you take your coffee, Chairman?"

"Black, no sugar."

The teenager was surprised at that, as she always found coffee to be too bitter to drink like that, but prepared a cup to the requested conditions. She added milk to her and her father's cup and a cube of sugar to own drink.

Patrick held is cup in his hands, savouring the warmth through the ceramic. "Now, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that the Earth Alliance have agreed to allow Athrun to send some messages."

The Chairman placed his cup down on the table before opening his briefcase and pulling out a tablet computer and starting the message from his son.

"¬Err… Well, hello. I'm Athrun Zala and I'm currently a prisoner of the Earth Alliance. It is my understanding that I will be released when a peace treaty is signed between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance.

"¬I have not been mistreated, beaten, or tortured for information. Though with so many things in life, who knows how long that will last. I'm kept mostly on my own, which may be for my own protection, but it is taking its toll on me,¬" Athrun sighed.

Lacus felt her heart melt at the tone and expression of her fiancé. "Athrun…" she whispered.

"¬I'm keeping the faith that the negotiations won't take too long and I can be reunited with my friends, family and fiancée.¬"

'He's missing me…' the songstress thought with mixed emotions. It was nice to be wanted, but Athrun was so far away. 'He needs to be protected! If he was here, I'd hold him tightly…'

Up until now, she had only held hands with Athrun, but now it becoming clear to Lacus that she needed to offer the young man in the video more support. With slightly watery eyes, she turned to the Chairman and asked what the bad news was.

"They won't release him until the peace treaty is signed. We're working on getting it done, but the Naturals won't disband and outlaw Blue Cosmos."

"They consider it interference in their political situation," Siegel added. "And when we demanded self-determination, they see it as a touch hypocritical."

"But our politics don't include groups that advocate genocide…" Lacus frowned.

"Correct, but we're working on things. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting to attend to. Thank you for the coffee," Patrick said as he rose. He was about to take back the tablet, but decided that it would be cruel to take it from Lacus. "Keep the tablet, we'll let you know if Athrun sends you a personal message."

* * *

Rau Le Creuset wasn't that surprised that Chairman Zala had visited him in person. Evidently, there was a serious matter that required special attention.

"What can I do for you, Chairman?" the masked man asked with a convincing joviality.

"I have heard some news, perhaps they're just rumours, but they are quite troubling."

"Oh? It's unlike you to pay much attention to rumours, especially when they come from the military."

"Yes, that's correct," Patrick nodded. "But these are rumours that a unit might go rogue and begin an unauthorised operation on Earth."

Rau nodded, he'd heard similar talk in recent days. The focus of the mission hadn't been specifically mentioned for fear of angering Chairman Zala, but it was clear what they were planning.

"This rogue operation, while well-intentioned, would risk disrupting the peace talks."

"Of course," the pilot nodded. "I will remind the troops that we cannot risk anything happening to Athrun."

"I'm glad that we understand each other. However," Patrick said, coughing into his fist. "Failure to have a Plan B has undone many a grand scheme throughout history. I will need your team to formulate a plan to rescue Athrun."

Rau nodded with a small smile on his face. This would give him an opportunity to eliminate Athrun and have Chairman Zala unleash a fury that would destroy many of the Naturals. "I see. Well, I will need some time to begin planning such an operation. I take it I would have priority use of the Gundams we stole?"

"That would depend on the details of your plan. I should warn you though, failure is not an option."

* * *

Murrue Ramius had been relieved of command of the Archangel. It wasn't a huge shock for a junior officer who'd taken command of a ship to be told that the ship was getting a new captain. She had been promoted to Lieutenant Commander and made First Officer of the Archangel during repairs and rearming of the ship.

But now, she was feeling a little lost. There was only so much for her to do while they awaited deployment orders. Feeling like she should talk to someone, she arranged to meet up with Natarle Badgiruel.

The pair sat in a coffee shop, sipping lattes in silence. Neither of them really knew what to say, though there was one topic that they both wanted to discuss.

"I… About… Athrun… Did we do the right thing?"

"I think we did," Murrue said with a tone that sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Natarle.

"It's just that he's been locked up for weeks now."

"There's nothing we can do about that."

"But they're keeping him in solitary with limited exercise opportunities!" Natarle protested. "That's not good for you. You heard the threat from his father."

Murrue looked around the shop for eavesdroppers. "Well, I suppose that we could visit him. I'll look into arranging a meeting, though it'll probably be behind glass with cameras and armed guards watching."

"It's got to be better than nothing."

* * *

The plan by Murrue and Natarle to talk to Athrun had been rejected by the Earth Alliance command on security grounds. At least, that was the official reason.

In truth, a number of higher ups felt that by having women talk to the prisoner as part of his regular messages would create too much sympathy for him and the ZAFT negotiating position.

Instead, it was mentioned that Mu La Flaga would be a better choice. Both were skilled pilots and they seemed to have developed some rapport during their interactions on the Archangel. It was suggested that it would be good opportunity to gain some background information the PLANT political situation.

And so, a week after his last message, Athrun Zala was talking to Mu La Flaga from behind a pane of bulletproof glass.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Lieutenant?" the Coordinator asked pleasantly.

"Oh, anything you want really, Athrun. I can call you 'Athrun,' can't I?"

"I'm not sure I'm in a position to complain about anything," Athrun smiled. "But if it makes you happy, then yes, you can call me Athrun."

"It does, and call me Mu," the blonde smiled reassuringly. "So, I believe that you mentioned a fiancée recently, what's she like?"

"She… She's the kind of girl you want to hold close and protect her from anything bad," the Coordinator said wistfully. "I mean, I know it's an arranged marriage, but she makes me feel lucky."

Athrun's face fell as a realisation descended on him.

"Is everything alright, Athrun?"

"I… I want to protect her, but I can't even tell you her name in case she gets put in danger. How can I protect someone as pure as she is?" Athrun started to sob. "S-she's too pure for someone like me… She deserves better… Someone who isn't broken and pathetic… I'm so pathetic, I even killed my own team with the Gundam."

"Athrun, look at me. I know what happened on Heliopolis. You didn't do anything wrong. That GINN pilot committed a war crime, your actions prevented the deaths of countless innocent people," Mu insisted. "Heliopolis itself could have been destroyed."

Tears streamed down Athrun's face as he lowered his head. Why couldn't Mu see that he was beyond saving. That he'd failed everyone. He'd brought shame upon him and his father. The Le Creuset Team and the rest of ZAFT would rightly disown him. The only saving grace was that Rusty wasn't alive to see him.

"Rusty…"

Mu turned the camera off. He wasn't about to allow a traumatised young man's last shred of dignity to be torn away. He knew that he had to do something, the whole peace talks had been called under the agreement that Athrun's well-being had been guaranteed. If Athrun harmed himself because of not being treated for his PTSD, then it was likely that his father would launch a new assault, one that included orbital bombardment.

"Athrun… Athrun, listen to me. I know this is hard because I know what you're going through. I've seen good friends die horrible deaths."

The Coordinator rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands before sniffing. "I… I'm sorry. I… just want to go home. Is that too much to ask?"

"I can't promise anything, but I'll speak with the council about getting you some help."

* * *

Rear Admiral Haliburton had reviewed the footage Mu La Flaga had shown him. He was not happy about what he'd seen. It was a classic example of post traumatic stress disorder, and if not treated soon, Athrun Zala was in danger of taking his own life.

This was not something he could allow to happen.

Another thing that could not be allowed to happen is the release of this footage to ZAFT and Patrick Zala. Instead, the Rear Admiral ordered selected scenes to be edited and sent out as a personal message to Athrun's fiancée.

It was wrong, but what else could they do? They couldn't exactly send the poor boy out on a shuttle to the colonies. Ignoring the logistics and massive breach of protocol that releasing a prisoner and sending him in a shuttle, there was no reason for ZAFT to continue to negotiate the peace treaty.

'But if he escaped…' Haliburton shook his head to clear such a treasonous thought. It was improper to see the release of the Coordinator as something that could be written off as an accident.

* * *

Patrick Zala reviewed the footage that had been sent to ZAFT. It certainly proved that Athrun was still alive, but it was short and heavily edited. What had been assumed to be just right about of vulnerability was now endangering his son's life.

He wondered if he should tell his wife. It wouldn't do to unduly upset Lenore, but could he keep such a thing from her? Wouldn't a mother have every right to know about the well-being of her child?

Picking up the phone, he contacted his wife.

"Lenore. I…"

"¬Patrick, is everything alright?¬"

"No. I…"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "¬Bring Athrun back, Patrick.¬"

"I will," the Chairman said in an earnest tone. He ended the call and dialled Rau Le Creuset.

"Le Creuset, it's Chairman Zala. Your orders are to immediately prepare for Earth orbit. I'm going to give the Earth Alliance one final chance to release Athrun. If they fail to comply, your rescue mission is go. Use whatever and whoever you need, but if you fail to return my son unharmed, I will execute you and any survivors myself. Is that clear."

"¬Crystal. I will not fail you. ¬"

Patrick hung up the phone and let out a sigh. This was a delicate situation, but if handled right, Athrun could be brought back from the brink and fulfil his destiny as the Ultimate Coordinator.

* * *

Lacus Clyne needed someone to talk to. Her friends, while good people, didn't quite understand her situation. They were too young to appreciate the kinds of feelings that having a fiancé brought, even if it was an arranged one.

She'd replayed the message that proved Athrun was still alive countless times since she'd received. It filled her heart to know that even in his situation, Athrun Zala still thought about her. But there was something that had started to feel wrong.

Athrun was a good person; he'd never tried anything improper during their time together, even when they'd been alone. Apparently, some of the other young men of similar age would try to steal a kiss or try to touch a girl inappropriately.

Being treated with respect was nice, but recently, Lacus had started to have rather naughty dreams about her fiancé.

Gone were the walks in the park that ended with them sitting closely on a picnic blanket that had been a hallmark of their time together. Now, she dreamed about lying to the side of Athrun, breathing in the scent of his chest. A leg would rub against him, allowing a caressing hand to hold her close.

A hand that would slip to along her smooth thigh and occasionally slip a finger inside her.

That would usually result in Lacus waking up to realise she'd been masturbating at the thought of spending the night with Athrun. She needed someone to talk to, someone who had more of an understanding than the girls of her age group.

Not knowing who else to talk to, the songstress called her future mother-in-law.

* * *

Lenore Zala had always been a little distant towards Lacus. It wasn't that she disliked her or thought her beneath her son, she just accepted their engagement as the precursor to a political marriage.

Athrun would treat his wife with respect and at some point, they would have children. Other than that, she didn't care to think about how their relationship might turn out.

At least, that was how she'd seen things before the capture her son and the revelation about the potential legacy Patrick had prepared for him.

And now, Lacus was calling her for help.

She made a quick call to her husband to see what he thought. Did he still want this political union to happen? Siegel Clyne still had some pull with the Council, but not nearly as much as Patrick had as Chairman.

"¬Lacus is concerned for Athrun, but how is this any different to what we knew?¬"

"I don't know, but teenagers are fickle at the best of times, so maybe she wants to set him free?"

"¬I'm not the sort of person to force such things, but that would be her loss. If she gives up on him now, she'll be relegated to an ancillary role in his life,¬" Patrick replied. "¬But if the calculations are correct, that's not what she's worried about.¬"

"What do you mean, Patrick?" Lenore asked, a frown marring her features. "What have you planned?"

"¬Our son will be returned home soon, and then, all will be revealed. Encourage Lacus to be true to her feelings, even if it means discussing sex with her. Athrun will appreciate an affectionate fiancée.¬"

"Alright, but if this leads to something weird…"

"¬A little discomfort will be a small price to pay for our brave new world, Lenore,¬" Patrick said with an audible smile. "¬I love you and I trust you to do what's right for our son.¬"

"I love you, too," Lenore said.

* * *

To be continued with a rating bump…


	6. Chapter 6

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Nothing says "I love you" quite like violating her restraining order.

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

First Lieutenant Gavin Rose was nearing the end of his late shift. He was a little on edge, as were many of the staff in the JOSH-A control room.

The ceasefire between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT was holding, but there were a number of rumours circulating as to the reason it was called.

Some had suggested that ZAFT were on the back foot and struggling to match the material and manpower that the Earth forces could muster. The fact that the Kaohsiung mass driver had been captured a few weeks ago was evidence to the contrary.

The truth of the matter was that things were not going well for the Earth Alliance in this war.

As the officer on duty pondered the possibility that it was a ploy to lull the Earth Alliance into a false sense of security, an incoming message light alert sounded. "Ensign Roberts, who's calling us at this hour?"

"It's an external contact, Sir," the African-American woman answered. "It… It's coming from PLANT."

"On screen," Lieutenant Rose ordered. He blinked when he recognised Patrick Zala.

"¬This is Patrick Zala, Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. To whom am I speaking?¬"

"First Lieutenant Gavin Rose. What can I do for you, Chairman?"

"¬I need to speak with the ranking officer on site.¬"

"Well, I'm in charge of the watch…"

The face of the Coordinator shifted to a more patronising expression. "¬Lieutenant Rose, you do not have the authority to make the decisions required. Put me through to a flag officer. I will wait.¬"

The Lieutenant scowled, but before he could respond, the door to the control room opened and in walked Rear Admiral Haliburton. He turned to face the moustachioed man. "Sir, we've got Chairman Zala on the line."

"So I see," Haliburton nodded. He turned to the screen. "I'm Rear Admiral Haliburton. What can we do for you, Chairman Zala?"

"¬We need to discuss something that is not common knowledge. I think it would be best if you were to take this call in your private office.¬"

"Agreed. Ensign Roberts, transfer this call to my office."

* * *

Rear Admiral Haliburton had just sat down at his desk when the image on his monitor showed an agitated Chairman Zala.

"¬Rear Admiral, I'll get straight to the point: I saw the last video the Earth Alliance sent me of my son and I'm not sure that you're taking proper care of him.¬"

"That's not fair, Chairman, we are doing all we can-"

"¬When was the last time he received help for PTSD?¬"

"I…"

"¬Look, Rear Admiral, I'm not here to apportion blame, but let's not forget that the peace talks are dependant on Athrun being treated properly. ¬"

Haliburton frowned. "Are you saying you're pulling out of the peace talks?"

"¬No. I'm saying that I want my son back. In three days, Rau Le Creuset will be in Earth orbit. The ideal scenario is that there is a rendezvous with a ship of some description and my son is transferred aboard the Vesalius without incident.¬"

"I see. Well, you do understand, that I would need to discuss this with Earth Alliance military command, right?"

"¬Of course. It's why I'm telling you that you have three days before Rau Le Creuset gets to Earth. If it helps people make a decision, as far as I'm concerned, the peace talks in Copernicus City are still ongoing and I don't see a reason for them to stop.¬"

"Thank you, Chairman Zala, I'll let you know when I have an answer."

* * *

Lenore Zala prepared some tea for her guest, Lacus Clyne. As part of her plan to ensure that things would not get too awkward, Patrick had agreed to stay out that night on the pretext of planning the return of their son.

It was likely that her husband had already gone through several scenarios with the military to find the best one for Athrun's return, but a little extra discussion with the generals wouldn't go amiss.

The pink-haired Coordinator sat at the table nervously fidgeting with her hair.

"What's the problem, Lacus?" Lenore asked as she poured two cups of tea.

"I… I've been thinking about Athrun," Lacus answered. "I… No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you."

"Lacus Clyne, communicating your problems is an important part of a marriage. If you go now, how will you be able to tell Athrun how you feel? You would mistreat my son by toying with his emotions?" the married woman said, setting the teapot down a little more forcefully than normal.

"No, of course not," the pink-haired young woman insisted. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

"I… keep having dreams about him," Lacus said, her face turning red. "Dreams where I… I'm naked and lying next to him. He's holding me close but I rub my leg against him… Then I wake up and I'm rubbing a pillow between my legs…"

'Thirsty little bitch thinks she can just have Athrun like that…' Lenore thought darkly for a moment. Then she started to get an inkling for what her husband had planned for their child. 'Patrick, you crafty bastard.'

"I see. It's normal for a girl to have those kinds of thoughts about their boyfriend, Lacus."

"But I… I keep wondering how I'm supposed to make him feel good. I mean, just holding myself against him isn't going to be enough."

"Don't they teach you about sex in school these days?"

"A little, but some of the girls said that what they teach you barely counts as sex."

Lenore picked up her teacup and pondered the singer's words. It was true that the sex education in schools was basic. It covered the way Naturals conceived their children, but didn't really cover the more fun things she'd done with her husband.

"How far are you willing to go to make Athrun happy?"

"I… I don't understand. I said I want to sleep with him…"

The married woman calmly placed her teacup on a coaster. "Lean forward and take this finger into your mouth."

Lacus blinked in confusion, but did as told.

"Now, lick the tip as if it would give me pleasure."

The singer did as instructed, but failed to grasp just how this was going to help her with Athrun.

"Terrible," Lenore said, removing her finger from Lacus's mouth and wiping it on a tissue. "If that's the state of your oral skills, you'll never keep Athrun. Never mind keeping him to yourself."

"Oral?"

"As in oral sex. Where mouth and genitals come into contact." Lenore picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Done correctly, it's very pleasurable, but I'm not sure that you've got what it takes."

"Please," Lacus said tearfully. "I need to be able to make Athrun happy. I have to!"

The married Coordinator closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was in danger of getting very weird very quickly. 'But it will mean that Athrun will be taken care of…'

"This would require practical demonstrations, where you would undergo unspeakably lewd things," Lenore said, casting a half-lidded gaze over the young woman before her.

Lacus's expression took a steely determination. "I already have lewd thoughts about what to do with Athrun."

The married Coordinator let out a laugh. "Oh my sweet child, you have no idea where this will go. But I will teach you on two conditions. One, no-one ever gets a hint of what we're doing. I'm serious, if someone even so much as suspects what we've done together, you'll never see Athrun again. Two, you do exactly what I say."

"I'll do it," the pink-haired Coordinator said earnestly.

"Then imagine Athrun was sitting where I am. What would you do to convince him that you're ready to… take care of his manly needs?"

Lacus looked thoughtful for moment. She stood up and leaned in to kiss Lenore, tracing a finger along the face, neck and throat of the older woman.

Lenore noted the look on her student's face. She knew it well, having seen it and worn it on many occasions. "Follow me upstairs, Lacus. Your apprenticeship starts now."

Lacus followed Lenore into the master bedroom.

"Stand in front of the mirror," Lenore instructed as she closed the door behind her. "Now, undress. Let me see what we're working with here."

The pink-haired girl nervously unzipped her dress and started to slide it off her lithe body. "I…"

"You will call me Mistress Zala. And I said to undress," the married Coordinator said sternly.

"Y-yes, Mistress Zala," Lacus squeaked. She quickly shed her bra and panties.

Lenore moved in and ran her fingertips over the naked girl's body. "Tight little ass; perky breasts. Smooth thighs and the carpets match the drapes… You'll do for now."

"T-thank you, Mistress Zala."

"Who knows, maybe you'll even be good enough for my son…"

Lacus swallowed. She had to be brave. She had to be better. She had to be Athrun's.

She gasped as Lenore grabbed her breasts and started to massage them. "M-mistress Zala…"

"Athrun will want to do this. Or are you saying that he'll only get to touch them through your clothes?"

"N-no, I was just taken by surprise."

"Hmm…" Lenore mused. She turned the teenager around and started to lick the hardened nipples. "Do you like that?"

"Y-yes," Lacus moaned softly.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Mistress Zala."

"And don't you forget it," Lenore chided as she pinched Lacus's nipples. "Discipline is of paramount importance. Badly behaved girls won't get so much as a sniff of my son's shirts."

"O-of course, Mistress Z-Zala."

"Good. Now, sit on the bed while I undress. Spread your legs in front of the mirror. You have nothing to hide from Athrun, do you?"

Lacus did as she was instructed, her cheeks burning brightly. She felt ashamed that she should be on display like this, but it also excited her. She looked over to see her teacher's body.

Lenore Zala was a beautiful woman, she had a classic hourglass figure. Her waist was narrow and her stomach toned and flat. Her breasts were much larger than Lacus's and they were tipped with dark nipples that make the teenager want to suck on them.

"Do you like what you see, Lacus?"

"Yes, Mistress Zala," the pink-haired girl nodded.

"Good," Lenore smiled as she walked to the bed. "Now, the first lesson is on kissing."

Lenore leaned in and lifted Lacus's head up. She placed a kiss on her student's lips. "You have to start gently. And you'll want to tilt your head slightly or you'll smash your noses together."

Lacus nodded in understanding before tilting her head to her left.

The dark-haired woman kissed her student again, this time slipping her tongue into Lacus's mouth. After a moment, Lenore broke the kiss. "Now, do you get the idea?"

Nodding breathlessly, the singer could feel a heat in her loins that she hadn't felt before. If kissing felt this good with Athrun's mother, then anything she did with Athrun himself would be pure ecstasy.

"Now, you kiss me like you mean it."

Lacus did as instructed and leaned in. First their lips met, but instinct told Lacus to plant a series of kisses along Lenore's jawline and neck. She moved back to kiss her partner on the lips and this time started to slip her tongue far into her mouth.

Lenore noted her apprentice's progress, but turned the tables by wrestling the teenager's tongue into submission. After thirty seconds, Lacus had to break the kiss.

"You're coming along nicely, Lacus," the dark-haired woman complimented the panting girl. "But it's still not enough to just be able to kiss well."

The singer nodded. She was surprised when her tutor took her right hand and kissed the wrist.

"Extend your index finger, Lacus." Lenore gave a smirk after she was presented with the digit. "Now, this will give you some idea how orally pleasure a man. Who knows, one day it might even be Athrun…"

Lacus let out a soft gasp as she felt the warmth of Lenore's mouth on her finger. The way the older woman's tongue teased the sensitive fingertip made her realise just what had been meant by the earlier test during tea. And now the suction made her shiver.

"M-Mistress Zala!"

The married woman's smirk fell from her face as the front door opened and a voice called out.

"Shit. Patrick's here… You hide in the closet. Don't make a sound, and I'll let you know when it's safe to come out, OK?"

"Yes, Mistress Zala."

Slipping on a silk bathrobe, Lenore looked over the room and realised that nothing was out of place. "I'm up in the bedroom, Patrick."

There were footsteps on the stairs and the bedroom door opened to reveal a smiling Patrick Zala.

"Hi, honey, how's it going?" the voluptuous woman asked with a forced smile.

"It's…" Patrick trailed off. He looked over his wife's attire and lowered his voice. "There's someone in that closet. Do I need to get a gun?"

"No," Lenore whispered back. "It's…"

Patrick narrowed his eyes, waiting for a suitable reply from his wife.

"It's not what you think. I…" Lenore took a deep breath and whispered into her husband's ear, "It's Lacus. I was t…"

"So you're cheating on me with our son's fiancée!?" the Chairman hissed angrily, barely keeping the volume of his voice in check. He saw that his wife looked horrified at the accusation and immediately felt regret. He kissed Lenore, his tongue playing with hers. After a minute, he broke the kiss. "If you were teaching her something, how about we give her a demonstration?"

The dark-haired woman nodded. "Let's get you out of that suit and into the bed, my husband…"

Lacus, hidden in the darkness of the closet, remained as silent as she could. The door was slightly ajar, allowing her a view of the bed. She couldn't take her eyes off the pair when she saw Lenore lead Patrick onto the bed by his erection. The married couple started to kiss and caress each other for a minute before Lenore started to begin sucking her husband's throbbing erection.

When the pink-haired Coordinator saw the look on the man's face, she started to understand just what it was that her tutor was trying to teach her: That she needed to use every part of her body to make Athrun Zala happy.

'If Athrun needs me to do this, then I will drop to my knees and take his manhood into my mouth,' Lacus thought with a fiery determination. It was then that she saw just how much of Patrick's penis had gone into Lenore's mouth and she let out a gasp.

Not missing a beat, Patrick tapped Lenore on the shoulder. She looked up, surprised that he was about to finish inside her mouth but nodded when he gestured it was time to reposition. Slowly removing the thick rod from her mouth, she waited for him to indicated their next position. Patrick lay on his back, facing the closet and placed his hands on his wife's hips, moving her to ride him reverse cowgirl style.

Lenore smiled as she got into position, he knees either side of her husband. Slowly, she slid down his cock, letting out a gasp of pleasure as she moved down. Their hips started to move in unison, eliciting grunts and moans of pleasure from the couple.

"Fuck yes!" Patrick said as his wife shimmied her hips as he thrust upwards. He moved one hand from her hips and started to caress his wife with his fingertips. "Like that, do you?"

"I fucking love it! I love fucking you, Patrick Zala! I love having your cock in me! Fill my pussy, you sexy bastard!" Lenore screamed.

Lacus couldn't help herself. She knew she had to keep quiet and keep still, but the scene before her was playing out like something she'd dreamed about for herself and Athrun. Her right hand moved between her naked thighs and she started to play with wet pussy. She could easily see herself riding Athrun's shaft. 'Yes… Maybe even with us facing each other…'

It was then that pink-haired Coordinator saw Lenore's back arched as she climaxed. A split second later, she also heard a groan come from Patrick.

Lenore extricated herself from the softening manhood and snuggled up to her husband. "I love you, Patrick."

"I love you, Lenore," Patrick said as he embraced his wife and closed his eyes.

A moment later, he was asleep and Lenore was looking at the closet. She gestured for the spying girl to leave now. When there was no response, she gently climbed off her husband and opened the door.

"Time for you to go, Lacus. Think about what you've learned today, it'll come in handy one day."

"I…" Lacus was torn. She needed to know more, but it was obvious that the lesson was over. Upsetting Athrun's mother would pretty much guarantee that she would never get to experience the joys of sex with him. "I… Mistress Zala… can I have another lesson?"

"Maybe. We'll see how we feel in the coming days. You can see yourself out."

Slightly dejected, Lacus gathered her clothes and started to dress herself for the journey home.

"I'll call you later, Lacus, so don't take any long trips."

"Of course, Mistress Zala."

When they were alone, Lenore climbed back on top of her husband and closed her eyes, glad that they had each other.

* * *

A little later, hunger woke the Zalas from their post-coital slumber.

"I suppose we should eat something," Lenore said, enjoying the warmth of her husband's body.

"Yes… Oh, I meant to tell you something earlier," Patrick said, stroking his wife's hair. "Though, in my defence, I have always been weak against your feminine wiles."

"Don't you ever forget it!" Lenore said before playfully biting her husband's chest. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

"I spoke with the Earth Alliance and I told them that I wasn't happy with their treatment of Athrun."

"Yes, his last message was heavily edited. I'm worried about our son, Patrick. When are you going to bring him back?"

"Rau Le Creuset is en route to Earth as we speak; he'll be there in three days and I told the Earth Alliance that it would be good for them if Athrun was able to rendezvous with him."

"What about the peace talks?" Lenore asked, concern etched on her face.

"They're still going on. But Le Creuset has orders to come back with Athrun," Patrick said reassuringly. "If the Earth Alliance aren't willing to release Athrun, Le Creuset will use the Gundams that his team stole for a rescue mission."

"And if they fail?"

"If they fail to bring back Athrun unharmed, I told Le Creuset I would execute him and his team myself. Athrun's development is at a critical point, if he's kept in isolation, he'll break down and we'll lose our son as we know him. But if his release is as I instructed, he'll recover within a few weeks of his return."

"And if it doesn't?" Lenore asked pointedly.

"It depends on how his return goes. If they stall, he'll take longer to return to normal. If they try to kill him and he escapes… well, he'll probably end up fine in the long run."

"Probably!?"

Patrick winced. It was a poor choice of words, but it wasn't like he could just reveal all of his plans for his son's future. No, this would require a careful presentation of the facts. "I'll explain further over dinner. Now, do you want to shower first, or should I?"

"I'm in no mood to cook, Patrick."

"Then we will order pizza. Cheese, tomato, mushrooms, smoked sausage," the Chairman said as he rose from the bed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to shower."

* * *

And that's why we've gotten a bump in the rating, folks.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Sandwiches are not "w00t!" foods.

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

Lenore Zala slowly chewed her pizza as she waited for her husband to explain exactly what it was that he'd planned for Athrun.

"Where to begin?" Patrick asked rhetorically. He took a deep breath before beginning the explanation of his actions to his wife. "Birthrates for Coordinators reduce with each generation. There's only a small difference between first and second generation, but the third generation appear to have a few sterility problems."

"That does correspond to the numbers I've seen from the Bureau of Official Statistics."

"If this trend was to continue, in a few years, PLANT will have a demographic crisis."

"Certainly if the war is not ended soon," Lenore said, nodding in agreement.

"This is where Athrun comes in," Patrick smiled. "Ulen Hibiki was hoping to make the Ultimate Coordinator. Thanks to some assistance and gentle persuasion, he agreed to make Athrun the peak of human genetics."

Lenore nodded as she reach for her wineglass. "I'm with you so far. This was why we delayed having Athrun, after all."

The Chairman took a sip of his wine before continuing. "Athrun isn't going to be the patriarch of a new generation. His sperm counts are too low. However, what he lacks in quantity, he more than makes up for in quality. Not just in DNA, the tests showed they all had good motility and no deformations."

"Does that mean he'll be using in vitro fertilisation methods?" the Zala matriarch frowned. "It seems like a waste to me."

"Ha ha, no, I wouldn't do that to our son. I'm not Al Da Flaga," Patrick said with a grin. "But thanks to Hibiki's work, Athrun will help with the fertility rates of PLANT. He won't father a generation, but his secretions will help others with their attempts to conceive."

Lenore pondered this. "So, the would-be mothers of PLANT will be queueing up for sex with our son in the hope that it will aid their pregnancy with their partners?"

"Not only that, but Athrun will be the bridge between Naturals and Coordinators. A child would be a naturally occurring Coordinator."

"What about their children?"

"That would depend on who the child mated with."

Lenore shook her head. "You've taken the potential you gave our son and your squandering it on a breeding programme!"

"It's more than that, Lenore!" Patrick snapped. "It's… well, look, our son is genetic perfection. We need to make sure that gets passed on to future generations. Not only that, our son or his son could lead humanity to its next stage. Consider the advances we could make as a species! No longer would we be stuck at the Lagrange points, but extrasolar travel.

"Those that carried Athrun's DNA would be able to adapt to any environment within a generation or three. How long would it take for Naturals to adapt to Mars' lower gravity?"

"I suppose you're right, Patrick, but still…"

"I understand your reticence, Lenore, but this isn't just about me having a legacy, it's about ensuring the future of Coordinators."

Lenore sighed. "Promise me that you're not going to force Athrun into this. If he wants to just live a quiet life with Lacus, promise me that you'll let him."

"I promise you, Lenore. Athrun will be free to make his own choices," Patrick smiled genuinely. "Speaking of Lacus…"

"Ah… Well, the thing is I had make sure that she was good enough for Athrun. She barely knows how the Naturals make babies."

"I hope you didn't teach her too much. She must remain pure but thirsty."

"Why?"

"Because Athrun sees her as pure and innocent. He felt shame from wanting to do things like hold her hand and sit with her under a tree. To know that she's skilled at sucking dick will crush him," Patrick explained. "Other women will attempt to seduce him, but that's what happens when you're better than the best result the genetic dice could ever bring up.

"Besides, Siegel Clyne's head will explode when he finds out what his precious daughter is doing in the fight to hold her own against grown women for the love of Athrun."

"You devious bastard!"

"It's why you love me, isn't it?" the Chairman said before laughing like a supervillain.

* * *

Cagalli Yula Athha had just finished escorting the Morgenroete engineers to the Earth Alliance when she received the call from her superiors at the Orb intelligence agency, ODESSA.

"Speak to me," the blonde said into her phone.

"¬Agent Athha, we've got a new assignment for you.¬"

Cagalli moved to a more secluded part of the building. "No down time for me, huh?"

"¬It's unfortunate, but your previous mission was only escort duty and this mission is time sensitive,¬" the handler on the other end said apologetically.

"I suppose you're right," the young woman conceded. "Right, so what do you need me to do?"

"¬We need you to break someone out of a secure facility and get them to the mass driver in Panama.¬"

Cagalli shrugged. It wasn't the first time she'd taken part in a jailbreak, but the escort duty part sounded boring to her. Most people she needed to babysit were weaklings who had to be protected from anything scarier than a soft cushion. "Send me the details and I'll get them to Panama."

The call was terminated and an encrypted data file was transmitted to the secured phone. The blonde took the opportunity for a comfort break and used the privacy to review the dossier she'd been sent.

'Athrun Zala, as in…?' The more Cagalli read through the briefing, the more she started to understand about what was so time sensitive about this mission. 'I suppose that keeping an eye on him won't hurt too much,' she thought with an amused smirk.

Finishing up in the restroom, Cagalli signalled that she was en route to the secured facility holding Athrun Zala prisoner.

* * *

The Earth Alliance high command were in deep discussion about the ultimatum Patrick Zala had sent them.

"We can't allow the peace talks to be jeopardised, we have to give his son back!" an Admiral insisted.

"And give up our best leverage?" Captain Sutherland asked. "It's how we can ensure we get what we want."

"Rau Le Creuset is on his way. Sure, it's just one ship, something we can handle if we send the Archangel to head a battle fleet," Rear Admiral Haliburton added. "But if we open fire, we'll be the ones breaking the ceasefire."

"How is the work on the remaining Gundam coming?"

"The good news is that the Gundam will function. The bad news is that it currently requires a Coordinator to get it to work properly," Captain Yuuki answered. "What Athrun did to the OS to get it to function is nothing short of phenomenal. However, they're reviewing the OS line by line. It'll take weeks to get to the testing phase, even with the new help from Morgenroete."

There were a few sounds of commotion as the officers protested the slow nature of the work on the mobile suit.

The highest ranking officer there, Fleet Admiral Giovanni Locatelli, called for calm. "Gentlemen, we can't stall any longer, we need to make a decision. Either we agree to the demands and send Athrun Zala back to his father or we don't. If we send him back, we can keep the peace talks going and possibly see an end to this war before too long. That is assuming that they are true to their word.

"If we don't send him, we risk opening up hostilities again. You've read the same reports I have, you know that without the Gundam or a method of countering the neutron jammers, we're not going to be able to fight back for a while. That's not to say we can't win this war, it just means we're in danger of a Pyrrhic victory."

Solemn silence descended on the room as they processed their options.

"If anyone has any other options, now is the time to speak up," the Fleet Admiral said.

"We could stall with a wild goose chase," Captain Sutherland suggested. "It won't buy us much time, but if we were to claim that we've had a systems failure, we could send up a number of ships or capsules and Le Creuset would have to investigate them all."

"He would be under orders to ensure Athrun's safe return. But we risk losing all of these ships and we have some severe shortages. We did need Morgenroete to build the Gundams for us," Haliburton added.

"We have no guarantee that they won't betray us when they have him back!" Sutherland protested.

And so, the debate raged on into the night.

* * *

Fortunately for the Cagalli Yula Athha, there was only a short distance between the facility where she'd dropped the Morgenroete engineers off and the airport for her connecting flight to southern California. The security measures meant that she was unable to carry through her normal armament, but the blonde told herself that it was a civilian flight so there would be few weapons onboard.

Not that a graduate of the ODESSA training programme was ever truly unarmed. After looking around, the blonde decided that her krav maga skills would be enough on this flight. Even if someone managed to conceal a blade through security, improvised weapons training would mean that Cagalli could incapacitate a man with the in-flight magazine or one of the stewardess' trays.

But still, there was something unsettling about being away from a proper weapon while on mission.

'I must look into Captain Simeone's work on ceramic blades…' she thought as she felt the aircraft accelerate into the sky.

It was an honorary rank for the engineer, but Captain Simeone was one of the best engineers in the ODESSA backroom staff. His work on composite materials had proved quite useful for body armour used by the Orb military. It had even found its way into the mobile suits Morgenroete had produced for the Earth Alliance.

There were rumours that his blades, while fragile, were sharper than any steel blade. As Cagalli closed her eyes to help make the flight pass quicker, she reasoned that having a piece of the blade break off inside your opponent might prove more useful than sword sturdy enough for a medieval battlefield.

After all, the state of the art with military technology was the mobile suit with Phase Shift armour.

She opened her eyes when she heard the man in the seat next to her speak to a stewardess about what drink he wanted. He'd ordered a coffee.

"What would you like to drink, Madam?" a pretty redhead asked with a practised smile.

"Gin," the blonde answered without hesitation.

The stewardess was surprised at the earliness of the traveller's drinking, but said nothing and produced a small bottle of gin and a plastic tumbler containing two cubes of ice and an anaemic slice of lemon. "What would you like as a mixer?"

"Regular tonic water will be fine," Cagalli replied. Her expression softened. "I've got one of those days ahead of me and I could do with a spot of Dutch courage."

"Ah," the redhead nodded as she handed over the can of tonic water.

The man was about to speak to Cagalli when he noticed the look in her eye. It warned him not to speak to her, lest he find himself in pain. He swallowed nervously before turning his attention back to his coffee.

* * *

Cagalli's flight landed on time and she was met by another Orb operative. Samantha Choy was an attractive woman of Chinese descent; she was in her early thirties and had spent most of the last decade working in the Atlantic Federation for ODESSA.

As the pair walked to their SUV, Agent Choy asked if Cagalli knew anything about the mission they'd been assigned.

"Not much other than the initial briefing," the blonde answered. "Even then, that was a data packet. As I understand things, we're being asked to break Chairman Zala's son out of the military prison."

"That's phase one," Choy replied. "The second part is to get him on board a shuttle into orbit to meet Rau Le Creuset."

"I heard that the only reason why we've got a ceasefire is because Patrick Zala wants his son back," Cagalli said as she fastened her seatbelt. "If that's the case, why are we helping ZAFT out?"

"I asked the same thing, but they didn't tell me," Choy said as she directed the car to the safehouse. "My guess is that Blue Cosmos might do something stupid as a power play and if that happens, ZAFT might react badly."

"Not as badly as Chairman Zala." Cagalli activated the air conditioning. She could have opened the window, but one did not get to be as successful as she was by being careless. She turned to her travelling companion. "I hear rumours that Heliopolis may have to be evacuated."

"Yeah, though there's not much intel on that at the moment. I suspect that ZAFT might have something to do with that. What's brought this up?"

"I was nearly assigned to escort the Morgenroete engineers and the Gundams to the Archangel," the blonde said. "I was about to head out with them, when I get a call for some close protection duty."

"I'm not sure you could have done anything differently."

"No, but you always wonder about these things."

"Best not to dwell on them. Anyway, about our mission," Samantha said, deftly changing the subject.

"How will we get him out of the prison?" Cagalli asked. "We don't have the time to dig a tunnel, and breaching the walls is probably a bad idea."

"Infiltration. I've got you a uniform and visitor's pass, but unfortunately, you'll have to pretend to be a man."

"Crossdressing?" The blonde asked. "Better than having to seduce dirty old men, I guess."

* * *

Patrick Zala strode into his office with a purpose. "Arrange for the communications department to come to my office immediately."

"S-sir?" his assistant asked, slightly fearful of the expression on the Chairman's face.

"I need to send a message to my son."

"Right away, Sir," the assistant said, picking up the phone.

A few minutes later, the PLANT Council's communication department arrived at the Chairman's office.

"You wanted us to send a message to the Earth Alliance, Chairman?"

"Indeed," Patrick said, rising from his desk to greet the two men. "I need to send a message to Athrun and the Earth Alliance military."

"Two messages?" the first technician asked as he started to set up the camera.

"One message should suffice. Something to reassure Athrun that I'm doing what I can to bring him home, but with the hint that I will take action if he's harmed."

It was a good plan, it had an efficiency that most Coordinators employed. It also maintained an air of secrecy with regards to what ZAFT's course of action would be.

Within a few minutes, the equipment was set up and the message recorded for broadcast to the Earth Alliance.

* * *

At the safehouse, Cagalli looked at her reflection as she tried her disguise on. It was that of an Earth Alliance officer and without any additional work, it would be clear that it was a woman inside it.

Samantha Choy looked at her fellow operative and considered where the modifications could be made.

"We're going to have to strap your chest down, and you'll need to wear your hair up."

Cagalli looked down at her chest and felt a pang of sadness. She was proud of her body and worked hard to keep her figure trim and so to deny her femininity, even for a short while, felt a little wrong. Still, it was a minor concession to make for an important mission, she had made much bigger sacrifices during her career with ODESSA.

"Anything else? Facial hair? Glasses? What's the identity I'm using?"

"A Captain Gibson, here's his picture," Samantha said as she handed over the ID card of the man in question.

The blonde studied the picture and tried to mimic the expression in it in the mirror. "Shouldn't take too much make up. The moustache will be annoying, but I think I can handle that."

"Do you want to select the shade of hair from the kit?"

"No, I'll use some of my hair for that. I'll trim it before I dye it."

"Ah, a quick hair change to help evade capture, good call. What colour would you like?"

"I fancy being a redhead."

* * *

Athrun Zala was struggling to deal with his situation. He felt guilty, like he should have been the one to die instead of Rusty.

Rusty was a good kid, someone who'd only recently gotten engaged, and as team leader, Athrun felt obligated to bring him back home in one piece.

Perhaps it was foolish of him to feel like that, but it was part of his upbringing and the social expectation that he accomplish great things as the son of a high ranking PLANT Council member.

Had it only been Rusty that he'd seen killed on this mission, he might have been able to realise that it was survivor's guilt that he was experiencing. But Athrun had also seen one of his oldest and best friends killed before his eyes.

Kira Yamato was not a soldier. He was a civilian, a pacifist who loved computers.

He was also a red stain on the ground of the Heliopolis colony.

Fresh tears leaked from the prisoner's eyes as he thought about the way Kira had died. "At least I avenged you, Kira…"

There was a knock on the door and Athrun rose up from his bunk and wiped his eyes. "Come in."

An armed guard walked in with a uniformed officer.

"Athrun Zala, you have a brief message from your father."

"M-my father?"

"Yes," the Lieutenant said as he held a small computer up for the Coordinator to see. An image of Patrick Zala was shown as the officer started playback of the message.

"¬Athrun, I know that you are suffering right now, but I need you to be strong for just a bit longer. I want you to know that your well-being is of the utmost importance to me and your return to the colonies is being arranged at this very moment. Rau Le Creuset is heading to Earth to rendezvous with you in orbit. You WILL make it home and I will see you again.¬"

The confidence in the Chairman's voice stirred something in the young mobile suit pilot.

"¬We're counting on you, Athrun. Remember that I love you, Son.¬"

That last comment caused a wave of emotion to wash over Athrun. "I have to be strong for Father and the rest of the colonies…"

Fresh tears welled up into his eyes, but this time they were not the tears of grief or self-pity. They different. Athrun couldn't quite place what emotion was causing them; it wasn't pride and it wasn't joy, but whatever it was, it was better than what he had been experiencing just an hour ago.

Taking several deep breaths, Athrun Zala turned to the men visiting him. "Thank you for that. It was just what I needed," he smiled.

"We'll be leaving you then," the Lieutenant said before walking to the door. "Oh, excuse me, Captain Gibson, I wasn't aware that Intelligence was going to be interrogating the prisoner today."

"What kind of intelligence department would we be if we allowed people to know our plans?" the blonde man asked.

"A fair point, Sir. I'll leave you to your work. Sergeant Peterson, you stay here to guard the Captain."

"That won't be necessary, Lieutenant."

"But…" the junior officer's words cut off by a lightning strike to his windpipe.

Before Sergeant Peterson could react, a tranquilliser had been administered to him and he started to slump against the concrete wall.

Athrun was taken aback by this course of action. "I… Wait, who are you?"

Captain Gibson give the injured Lieutenant a dose of tranquilliser before turning to the prisoner.

"Captain Gibson and you're coming with me, Athrun Zala. If you do exactly what I tell you, we'll both get out of here alive. Do you understand."

"Yes."

"Good, now let me unlock the cell so we can leave here for the spaceport," the blonde man said.

* * *

To be continued…

More terrible content for you here. I probably should have given it another once over, but I'm very lazy. Even if I wasn't, it wouldn't make me a better writer.


End file.
